Sonic Satam X: Episode 2
by Jonathan83X
Summary: The Freedom Fighters gain three new members after a bizarre rescue in the Great Forest. However, Sonic begins to become suspicious inside, especially after the three new recruits begin to help out. Are they friend or foe?
1. Operation Virus

Disclaimer: All the characters in this fanfic are copyrighted of Sega and DIC

Episode 2: Episode 2: New Recruits? 

On a hilltop near Robotropolis, Sonic and the Freedom Fighters were ready to attempt another shot at uploading the Cyrus' virus onto Robotnik's main frame computer. It had been a week since Sonic was reunited with his siblings. Now he strongly hoped this time they would not only free their parents as well, but those lost from the previous mission.

"Man, my shoes are itching to hit the old road." The blue hedgehog commented fired up.

"Just chill, Sonic." Sally instructed, while scoping the area with her infrared binoculars. "You'll get your chance soon enough."

A minute later, Sonic asked her after putting them away, "So, how's it look out there?"

"Well, it's not pretty to say the least." Sally commented sighing. "Good thing we brought most of the team and have a full arsenal of weapons."

Seconds later, she signaled for the team to huddle up. One by one, she gave them their instructions.

"Ok, guys, here's the plan." She announced. "Bunnie, you along with Antoine and Tails take the west perimeter of Robotropolis main building. Manic, you and Sonia fly overhead and head for the roof. Sonic and I will head for the entrance to attempt the plant the virus after heading inside. Dulcy, I'll need you to start sniping at the Swatbots from a secure location, allowing us access to the main building. Everyone got their assignment down?"

"You bet, Sal!" Sonic answered, giving her a thumb's up.

"It's too bad we couldn't have brought Uncle Chuck or Rotor along with us." the ground squirrel commented sadly. "I could use some more help on the technical side of this assignment."

"He can't because of old needle nose's wave machine." Sonic replied frowning. "Plus, someone's gotta stay to keep an eye on Knothole."

"No matter..." Sally commented, quickly composing herself. "Once we plant the virus, we'll destroy that horrid device and free the other roboticized citizens from Snively's hold as well."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Sonia said impatiently.

And with that statement, the team put their right hand on top of each other's, one after the other, declaring boldly in unison, "Let's do it to it!"

Seconds later, Sally said, getting her infrared binoculars out again "Ok, Dulcy, you're on."

"Right."

Instantly the green dragon flew to a nearby junk pile and began sniping Swatbots while in midair with her ice breath, including the red and white ones in hover units in the air. One by one, they began to fall to the green dragon's attacks, dropping to the ground frozen solid.

Sally then said after twenty five seconds into her assault, "Ok, she's cleared a big enough path for us to mount an attack. Charge!"

The Freedom Fighters did just that, running towards Snively's main headquarters at a full head of steam. Unfortunately though, another dozen of his robotic soldiers from the main area saw them coming, and shouted while pointing their laser guns, "Halt, don't move!"

The Freedom Fighters though didn't pay any attention to their warnings, as the team grabbed several highly explosive pipe bombs from the backpacks and heaved it directly at their foes.

Within seconds, the Swatbots in front of them were blasted to bits in front of them, now reduced to a pile of scrap metal.

"This is almost too easy." The blue hedgehog commented with a grin while running

"Don't get overconfident, Sonic." Sally reminded him. "The battle's just begun."

"Yea, let's toast these suckers!" the blue hedgehog said firmly

With the front now cleared for the time being, the Freedom Fighters quickly split up into three groups, heading to their designated areas. However, as Sally headed for the front door, three more Swatbots approached them from right corners of the main building, quickly pointing their laser guns at their heads.

"Surrender, Freedom Fighters!" they ordered.

"I don't think so!" Sonic answered boldly.

Moments later, the blue hedgehog quickly charged in, performing a moderate sized tornado attack around, quickly gulfing them inside. Instantly, they began to spin violently around inside of it.

Sonic though still wasn't done. The split second he stopped performing this special attack, he grabbed three grenades from his backpack and heaved them inside the still spinning cyclone, causing the explosives to spin inside as well.

As planned, the grenades soon blasted all of Snively's robots on contact, putting them out of commission on the spot. On top of that, the tornado made by the blue hedgehog's quickly died down a few seconds later, dropping them to the ground, dead as a doornail.

However during this assault, two red and white Swatbots in a hover unit came flying in out of nowhere and abruptly grabbed Sally from behind, with each one restraining one of her arms.

"Sonic, help me!" she screamed, struggling to get free.

"Oh no you don't!" he declared boldly, chasing after it once it took off.

Thankfully though, Sonic didn't need to run for long. His siblings finally came their aid. Manic then swooped in, using the bottom end of his hoverboard to heavily ram against their metal heads, this move of his paid off well, as it heavily jarred them in the process to cause each to abruptly drop the squirrel Princess.

Sonic, to no one's surprise, was right on top of things, firmly catching Sally in his arms within seconds.

After he landed on the ground, Sonic waved to his Manic and Sonia above, saying loudly while giving them a thumbs up, "Nice job, guys!"

Moments later, Sonic asked Sally, "You all right?"

Sally though didn't answer him. Instead, she let out a gasp, quickly turning her eyes towards the same Swatbots that had taken her prisoner, now coming after her again, as well as the blue hedgehog.

Sonic soon saw them approaching himself, muttering with a frown, "I guess I'll have to hit them with a triple spin to take em out this time!"

But again, Sonic's siblings took care of these pesky aerial Swatbots. Manic then flew closer to get a better shot while Sonia heaved two of her pipe bombs; one aimed each at their metal chests, blasting them instantly to metal bits upon impact.

Sally now showed her gratitude for their efforts as well, saying to the two hedgehogs with a smile, "Well done. We can handle it from here."

Manic gave her a slight nod in response and quickly flew off.

"Ok, let's bust inside!" the blue hedgehog said firmly

Sally quickly retrieved her portable computer from her boot, saying once it was firmly in her hands, "Nicole, find us the access password to the door."

"Searching, Sally… "

Meanwhile, the other two teams were now at their destination. Near the top of the roof, Manic threw another pipe bomb at the air vent, blasting a big enough of a hole for them to access.

"All right, sis, let's get inside."

Sonia slightly nodded her head in response, commenting, "Hopefully after we install the virus, we'll be reunited with our Mom and Dad."

On the west side, Bunnie blasted the door in front of them of its hinges by heaving two move pipe bombs at its metal structure, causing it to slowly fall to the floor with a loud thud.

"Time we to kick that little weirdo out of power." She said boldly to her comrades after the smoke cleared from the explosion.

After the cyborg rabbit ran inside, Tails soon followed suit while flying with his two tails. Antoine on the other hands was starting to have second thoughts.

"Um, are you sure this is a good idea?" he asked, biting his fingernails

"Ant, sometimes I wonder why Sally girl even puts you on the front lines." Bunnie commented, shaking her head at him with a frown. "You're just too chicken."

"I am not chicken!" he protested with great indignation, adding while pointing his right thumb at his chest, "I am Antoine, Freedom Fighter exrtod...

Bunnie however wouldn't let him finish his line, as she abruptly yanked him inside by the neck of his uniform.

Elsewhere, Nicole finally broke the code on the door.

"Yes, we're in!" Sally exclaimed happily soon after.

Unfortunately, there were three Swatbots standing in front of them once the doors opened.

Sonic though didn't even give them a chance to say their repetitious line, as he them slammed to the ground with a well timed spin dash. He then finished each Swatbot off, hitting both with a grenade to their metal visors, causing their CPU vision to soon short in and out due to it now being heavily damaged.

"Nice work, Sonic." Sally said

"Anytime, Sal." He replied with a cocky smile

The two of them then ran inside and began to search for the computer room.

To no one's surprise, Snively had been monitoring the whole thing from his lair thanks to several of his stealth spy orbs watching their every movement in well hidden locations.

He soon commented at the current situation with a sly grin on his face, saying, "So, they're at it again, eh? Trying to install that rotten virus onto my hard drive for a second time no doubt… Well, I've got a little surprise for them this time, and it won't be pretty. That much is certain. Heh heh…!"

Instantly, he now saw where the Freedom Fighters were on the video monitors and ordered three teams of Swatbots to incarcerate them.

"If those buffoons mess up, there's always Plan B." Snively stated with a smirk.

Plan B, not surprisingly, was none other than using Sonic's family and friends as a buffer.

Meanwhile elsewhere in the main building, Sonic and Sally continued to sneak inside while trying to avoid detection. However, they now noticed the inside layout was a bit different than the last time.

"That's odd." Sally commented, putting a hand under her chin to think. "I can't seem to locate the computer room."

"I gotta strong feeling Snobley here probably did a little redecorating to confuse us."

"You might be right, Sonic."

"As always…" he bragged.

Sally soon let out a soft groan of frustration, saying to her portable computer, "Nicole, try and find the computer room for us."

"Searching…"

Unfortunately, not even two seconds passed before four Swatbots came running in and surrounded them from all sides.

"Raise your hands, prisoners!" they ordered, aiming their weapons at them.

"Doh, man. Not again!" The blue hedgehog muttered. He then attempted to grab more explosives from his backpack, adding, "Let's trash these metal tin heads."

"Sonic, wait!"

"What, Sal?"

"Trying to fight them now might damage Nicole in the process." She explained.

Sadly, he knew she had a point. With the Swatbots less than five feet in front of them, and the current room they were in was a bit narrow, the odds of Nicole being hit by any of his bombs or even getting zapped by the Swatbot lasers were too great of a risk to gamble with now.

That and the fact she was the one carrying the Freedom Fighter virus on her hard drive.

Sonic sighed heavily and asked after conceding to her idea, "So, what do we do then?"

"Let's get out of this tight corridor for now." The squirrel princess concluded. "We can get them later."

"Right. Adios, Swatbutts!"

Instantly, he grabbed Sally tightly with both hands and blasted off. The Swatbots though soon fired their lasers the split second he took off, quickly giving chase.

While this was going on, Manic and Sonia continued to crawl inside the ceiling vents. Unfortunately, to their surprise, they saw all the rooms through the holes in the vents around them were heavily guarded by Snively's forces.

"That needle nose sure isn't making it easy." Manic commented softly with a frown

"Duh." She replied with a frown. "You thought this was gonna be a cakewalk?"

"No, of course not, Sonia. I just thought Snively would be more of a pushover than his uncle Robotnik. Looks like he's better than we give him credit for."

"Never mind that, Manic. Let's just try to find a way out of here."

"Right, sis."

Back in the west side of the building, Bunnie, Tails, and Antoine continued to make their way inside. Seconds later, the cyborg rabbit peeked around a corner and saw a half a dozen Swatbots roaming the area in front of them.

"This is gonna be tricky." She commented to herself. She then turned her head back towards Antoine and Tails, telling them firmly while looking both in the eye, "Ok, y'all, I'll throw a couple of grenades to stun them. Then you both swoop in to finish em off with…"

Unfortunately, Bunnie couldn't finish her line, as another six Swatbots came running in from behind and pointed their weapons at them. To matters worse, the others from around the corner also showed up seconds after, now fully aware of their new intruders.

"Surrender!" They ordered

"Oh great, just our luck…" Bunnie groaned.

Antoine immediately started to panic inside, but she looked at him and Tails, ordering loudly, "Follow my lead, guys!"

Instantly, she threw a smoke bomb on the ground to blind the dozen Swatbots.

"This way!" Bunnie shouted, running for it.

The smoke sadly only bought them a few seconds, as the Swatbots soon gave chase after it dissipated, firing their lasers at them in rapid succession.

Twenty seconds into this pursuit however, the cyborg rabbit quickly realized there were too many to keep eluding on foot without risking seriously injury, especially since there was no air vents nearby for them to hide in for cover.

And so, she came to an abrupt stop.

"What's wrong?" Tails asked concerned, stopping as well.

"Well, honey, I hate to admit it, but we're just not fast enough to keep eluding these goons."

"We are giving up?" Antoine asked, quivering in fear

"NO! We are not giving up!" she replied, glaring at the French coyote. "We're gonna trash em right here and now!"

Two seconds later, the Swatbots finally cornered them from behind, again ordering, "Don't move!"

"Now, guys!" Bunnie ordered loudly. Instantly, she tossed two pipe bombs into the crowd of Swatbots from her backpack. As before, it blasted four of them to metal pieces on contact.

Tails soon followed suit, heaving a handful of grenades at them, moderately damaging another four in the head. Antoine meanwhile now had another pipe bomb firmly in his hand and hesitated to throw it at the Swatbots.

"Antoine, throw it!" the cyborg rabbit yelled.

Bunnie's words finally gave him the necessary jolt he needed, as he heaved it with all his strength. Luckily for him, it was an accurate throw, blasting two more to pieces while heavily damaging another two in the process.

"Nice job, Ant." She commented, giving a playful tap on his shoulder with her nonmetal hand.

"Aw, it was nothing." He replied with a humble smile.

However, his little pat on the back would have to wait momentarily. Within seconds, the remaining four Swatbots who had been damaged from before again tried to shoot them in spite of the fact their metal heads were now sparking like crazy.

Bunnie though put an end to that threat right then and there, as she grabbed one of the heavily damaged robots by its metal arm with her robotic arm and then quickly used the Swatbot in her possession as a club to smash the remaining three and put them out of commission.

Her plan worked better than expected. Thanks to her robotic strength, Bunnie clobbered all four of them ease, reducing Snively's robots to pieces of scrap metal

While the cyborg looked on at her efforts with pride, Tails said after a brief pause, "C'mon, we better keep moving."

"Right." Bunnie commented.

As for Manic and Sonia, they continued to roam around inside the vents. Within a minute, both hedgehogs finally found one that led to an empty room.

"Let's go, sis."

However, the minute they stepped inside the room, five Swatbots quickly came running in, weapons drawn and aimed at their foreheads.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Sonia stated in disgust. "Now they come in?"

"Freeze, Freedom Fighters!" they ordered.

"No way, bozo!" the female hedgehog retorted boldly.

Instantly, she ran up to one and knocked it the ground with a sharp karate kick to its chest. Sonia then tripped one next to it with a low kick, taking it down as well.

Manic soon joined in on the fight, tossing several grenades at three of the Swatbots' metal visors, causing their CPU vision to heavily short in and out.

This attack in effect heavily reduced their lethalness as Snively's enforcers. They now could barely see their targets and deal with them in the room as a result of this.

Sonia's luck though sadly ran out, as she was now apprehended by a Swatbot from behind that wasn't hit by any of Manic's grenades two seconds later, holding her up high by the neck of her shirt.

"Manic, help me!" she said, struggling to get free.

"Hang on, sis."

The green hedgehog quickly pulled out another two grenades and heaved it at the knees of the Swatbot holding Sonia, with one hitting each knee, allowing her to momentarily escape after it was knocked off balance from the explosions.

Moments later, the female hedgehog put the robot away for good after landing on the ground, grabbing the robot by its weakened metal knees, strongly heaving it into the remaining unaffected Swatbot on the east side of the room that was about to open fire on her.

Within seconds, both of these robots crashed into a wall behind them, now heavily stunned.

"That takes care of them." Sonia commented with a firm expression on her face, dusting her hands in the process.

Moments later however, the three Swatbots with their heavily damaged CPU vision tried again to aim their weapons and again shoot the two hedgehogs in the room.

The green hedgehog then said to her sister, "Let's go, Sonia. Time's a wasting."

"Right…"

The two hedgehogs then quickly ran out of the room while the heavily damaged Swatbots fired their lasers erratically from behind.

"How did they know we were in there?" Manic asked, while running. "It's like those metal heads were waiting for us."

"I gotta feeling Snively's been watching our every move." Sonia replied in disgust.

Indeed he was. Within seconds, another five Swatbots came out of nowhere blocked the path in front of them, pointing the laser weapons at their heads.

"Man, this mission just gets more frustrating with every passing second." Manic commented with a frown.

With now only three weapons left in their arsenal, a pipe bomb and two smoke bombs, they now had to be wise on how they chose to use the last bit of their ammo.

"Don't move!" The Swatbots ordered

Sonia then knocked one down that was directly in front of the open door with another sharp flying karate kick to the chest, shouting to her brother after tossing a smoke bomb onto the ground, "Run for it, bro."

Manic didn't have to be told twice. He did just that, taking off for cover with Sonia soon following closely behind. Not surprisingly the five Swatbots they left in the wake soon gave chase after the smoke cleared, now in hot pursuit yet again.

"Got any ideas, sis?" the green hedgehog inquired as he ran.

"We might no choice but to hide in the vents again." Sonia replied. "No point in wasting the last of our ammo just yet."

While that was going on, Sonic continued to elude the Swatbots chasing him from behind.

Just then, Sally said while in his arms, "Sonic, wait!"

"What's up, Sal?" he asked, coming to a halt.

"Nicole's found the computer room."

"Really? Where?" he asked.

"Past this door." Sally replied.

"Cool, I'll blast it down."

Sonic however never got the chance, as the Swatbots finally caught up with him.

"Surrender!" they ordered.

"Take a hike, Swatbutts!" Sonic said boldly, now running towards them.

The blue hedgehog then attacked Snively's robots with a strong triple spin buzz saw attack, cutting right through the chest of two of them while knocking the other two to the ground in a heap.

"Quick, take out the remaining metal heads before they come to, Sal." Sonic told her.

Sally did just that, as she grabbed her final pipe bomb from her backpack and heaved it at them once Sonic was standing next to her.

Like the others, they too bit the dust, now reduced to nothing more than scrap metal.

Sonic and Sally quickly gave each other a high five soon after, with the squirrel princess commenting, "Well done, Sonic. We took them out successfully without harming Nicole."

"Yep, piece of cake…" Sonic replied, giving her a smug grin in response. "Those bots never had a chance."

"Can you take out the door?"

"No prob, Sal."

Sonic then pulled out his last pipe bomb and heaved it at the center of the door. Within moments, it exploded on contact, making a big enough hole for them to enter inside.

"Let's go!" Sally said, heading inside.

Snively meanwhile saw what all three Freedom Fighters teams were doing, and he was not happy about it one bit. "Those metallic morons always let me down!" he said, banging his arm rest. "Why do I even bother putting using them?"

Moments later, the small dictator calmed down, saying with a grin, "But, no matter. When they see the surprise I have in store for them, I'll be the one who has the last laugh."

Now inside the main computer room, Sally said firmly, "Ok, let's fry this system!"

However, not even three seconds later, they heard a voice that shouted, "Halt, intruders!"

It was none other than Big, Cream's adopted brother. Seeing him again put a look of horror on both of their face, not to mention it threw a wrench into their plans.

"Ah, great…" Sonic muttered. "I wasn't expecting this… now what?"

"We don't have any weapons left except for two smoke bombs. I guess we're just gonna have to hold him down and restrain him if necessary."

Moments later, Big then charged both of them, saying in his monotoned robotic voice while raising his arms up high, "Capture Freedom Fighters, by order of Snively the great!"

The blue hedgehog ran towards him to take him down in response to this, as Sally instructed loudly while running for cover, "Be gentle, Sonic. Don't damage his metal body."

While Big took a couple of swings at him, Sonic retorted with a frown, "Easier said then done with him trying to pound me now with those mondo fists of his."

"Just do the best you can." Sally replied, now on the west side of the room. "We have to try at least for the sake of Cream…"

Sonic knew she had a point. And so, he vowed on the spot to do just enough to take him down without causing any repercussions.

"And how do you suggest we do that?" the blue hedgehog asked while eluding his shots.

"Um…" Unfortunately for Sally, she didn't have a clue. Big then put them in very a tough spot, as he soon picked up a small metal table in the room near the main computer and attempted to clobber the blue hedgehog with it.

A few seconds later however, Sally snapped her fingers. "I've got it!"

"What's the plan?" Sonic asked, now keeping a firm eye on the roboticized cat.

"Keep him busy." She instructed. "I'll need about ten to fifteen seconds here."

Sonic did just that. Using his high agility, he easily evaded the table swings that came his way. He jumped over the low swings, ducked underneath the high ones, even jumped from side to side when Big tried to use the metal like a club.

Sally meanwhile finally snuck up from behind while the blue hedgehog kept him busy, where she then jumped onto the back of Big, trying to get his attention.

"Now, Sonic!" she ordered a split second later, trying to hang onto him tightly.

Big during this time dropped the table and tried to yank Sally off, attempting to use his large hands in an attempt to firmly grab her

The blue hedgehog though finally sprung into action before he could, as he then performed a triple spin attack aimed at his legs, instantly taking them out from underneath him, causing the large white and purple cat to hit the floor face first stunned.

He had been able to pull this off thankfully without any repercussions, as Sally jumped off of him a split second before he attacked.

She then connected some wires attached to her A.I best friend and told her, "Nicole, activate sleep mode on him."

"Activating, Sally…"

Within two seconds, Big's roboticized body's stopped moving in the least, as he now was comatose.

"Nice job, Sal. How long will he be out?"

"Only for five minutes." She explained. "That's the best Nicole can do on a roboticized citizen for the now since this is only a new ability Uncle Chuck gave her."

"No prob, that's more than enough time to get the job done." Sonic stated boldly.

Sally then hooked up Nicole to the main database and started the transfer of the virus to the main hard drive. Strangely, the main database was not responding to it at all. In fact, the screen even shut off. Instead, all it did was begin to beep.

"What in Mobius is going on here?" Sonic asked, arching an eyebrow. "I may not know computers that well, but even I know this is not normal behavior."

"Nicole, can you figure out what the problem is?"

"Scanning database, Sally."

However, while Nicole was trying to decipher the problem, the beeping instead only got louder, even to the point of becoming more frequent.

"What is up with this system?" Sally asked, getting frustrated. "Did Snively put a new encryption program on it?"

Just then, a paralyzing fear came over Sonic. He recognized the style of beeps.

"Get down, Sal!" he shouted, tackling her to the ground out harm's way.

"Sonic, what are you…" Sally couldn't even finish her sentence, as the computer exploded with intensity just two seconds later, spraying metal debris all over the room.

"I knew it!" the blue hedgehog shouted angrily. "This computer is a fake!"

"Nice detective work there, blue boy." A voice said from a short distance. "I guess you're smarter than I thought."

Sonic then turned around and there he saw who spoke to him… none other than the small dictator himself.

"You! How'd you get here so fast?" Sonic demanded, now standing up

"Easy, hedgehog, I've been watching your every move." Snively explained with a sly grin. "You're pretty clever to take down this big buffoon of a cat so easily. No matter, I've still got an ace in the hole."

Sonic instantly gritted his teeth at the small tyrant. "I'm gonna triple spin you, needle nose, if you don't shut your trap!"

Instantly, he went to attack him, only to hear before he could take a step, "I wouldn't do that if I were you!" Snively proclaimed boldly

"And why not?" Sally inquired with arched eyebrows.

"Because," he said, now holding up a tied up Tails in his right hand by his two tails. "I'll inject your little buddy here with cyanide if you don't cooperate!"

Sonic and Sally gasped in disbelief. What neither of them realized, while they were taking down Big, Tails had unfortunately been captured by a cleverly planned ambush by Snively and his army.

Luckily though, Bunnie and Antoine were able to escape the trap and fled from the building, only to soon discover the two tailed fox was no longer behind them anymore.

They wanted to go back in and free him, but they were only down to only one pipe bomb left. It would take more than that to just get through the front door again.

"There's gotta be something we can do to help." Bunnie commented angrily, peeking behind a junk pile. "We can't just abandon Tails with that maniac!"

"But what can we do?" Antoine reasoned. "We don't have enough ammo!"

The cyborg rabbit began to think and then said with a snap of the fingers, "Of course, let's go find Dulcy."

"What for?" the French coyote inquired. "She is too big to help us inside zee building."

"I know that, silly…" Bunnie replied with a frown. "But I have another idea in mind."

"Like what?" Antoine asked further.

Bunnie though didn't want to waste anymore time talking, as she then grabbed him by the collar of his solider outfit and dragged him along from behind, answering, "I'll explain later. Right now, let's find Dulcy and fast!"

While they looked for the green dragon, Manic and Sonia were still inside the building now hiding in a vent. However, with all sides heavily guarded by Swatbots, making any false movement was now suicidal.

Seconds later, the two hedgehogs saw through the vent on the right side that their brother, along with Sally and Tails were being taken to a prison cell to await roboticization.

"This is not good at all…" Manic commented with a whisper. "We gotta free them before it's too late."

"Yea, but how?" Sonia inquired, also whispering. "There's nowhere for us to go without being spotted."

A minute later, Sonic, Sally, and Tails were taken the prison room and incarcerated.

"You know," Snively said to them gleefully, "I usually roboticize rebels like you right away, but I want to savor this moment. I'll let you tremble in great fear for thirty minutes, while you wait your horrible fate, losing every bit of courage left in you. Heh heh!"

"Save your breath, Snobley!" Sonic declared loudly, pointing a finger at him. "I'll cut through those bars in a sonic second."

"Not this time you won't, rodent!" the small dictator shot back. "Watch this!"

Snively then pulled out a remote from his pocket and pressed the button. Instantly, many sparks began to circulate around the bars, making the three Freedom Fighters gasp.

"If you touch those bars, you'll be barbequed with over 10,000 volts of electricity." Snively said with an evil grin.

"You dirty snake!" Sally shouted, glaring at him. "You really are quite the psychotic mastermind, aren't you?"

"Why thank you, Princess. It feels good to hear you acknowledge my brilliance." He then stated after a brief pause with dry sarcasm while holding up a familiar explosive, "Anyway, thank you so kindly for allowing me to have the rest of your pathetic weapons from your bags. I'm sure I'll find some kind of use for them."

As it turned it, the small dictator had confiscated the remaining two smoke bombs from their bags as a security precaution, as well as a means of plunder.

Sonic meanwhile was tempted to lash at him, but held his tongue, as he didn't want to give the small dictator that satisfaction.

Snively soon added a few seconds later, "I would have taken your bags too, but since you'll be roboticized within the hour, I might as well let you keep them. After all, I'm sure they'll make excellent containers to carry important metal parts when you become my robot slaves."

The small dictator again chuckled at them, trying to rile his foes up more. However, when they didn't bite, he said with a frown, "Anyway, enjoy your little time of squirming around in fear. I'll check up on you later. Ta ta."

And with that statement, he left the room.

After Snively was out of sight, Sonic said somberly to the others, "I think it's safe to say we're in big trouble."

"Ya think?" Sally remarked with arched eyebrows.

Once Snively left the prison chamber, he ordered his robot soldiers around the building, "Keep a sharp eye out for the other intruders. I'm sure their little rodent friends will be trying to break them out eventually, knowing my luck..."

Twenty minutes later, the dumb bots came walking by to do their usual clean up duty. However, when they saw who was in one of the cells, they couldn't help but taunt them to the fullest.

"Well, well, well, lookie what we have here…" Scratch cackled, "Three furballs trapped in Snively's new cage. Isn't that a sight to behold, eh, guys?"

Not surprisingly, neither of the Freedom Fighters responded to this bantering.

"What's the matter, Swatbot got your tongue?" Grounder asked with a smirk.

When they didn't still didn't respond, Coconuts added laughing, "I guess finally getting caught made them speechless!"

Sonic finally spoke up and said, "Sorry to disappoint you, bolt heads, but we don't speak idiot."

Usually the dumb bots would retaliate to such insults, but this time they just grinned at them mischievously.

"Oh, is that so…?" Scratch commented, eyeing them intently from behind the bars. "Well, maybe you'll want to learn it if we tell you about what we did to one of your little friends."

That indeed got their intention, as Sally quickly asked with her hands at her waist, "What are you morons babbling about anyway?"

"Oh, I'm sorry…" Grounder replied, now speaking up. "But I thought you said you don't speak idiot."

"Stop playing mind games with us!" Sonic shouted, now losing his cool. "Answer the question if you know what's good for you!"

Scratch though just cackled at the blue hedgehog's demand, answering, "You are in no position to tell us what to do, because if you try anything, you'll become a hedgehog shish kabob."

That statement only angered Sonic even further. Even Sally was starting to glare at them too.

"Are you sure you want us to tell you?" Coconuts inquired with a vile mocking tone of voice. "After all, I'm sure it'll make you furballs pretty mad. Heh heh!"

"You know what, forget it…" Sally shot back with a frown. "We have more important things to worry about now than to care about this silly game of yours."

"Oh, I'll say you do all right…" Grounded chimed in. "You'll all soon become slaves of Snively the great, and that is a sight we cannot wait to witness up close and personal."

Again, neither Sally, nor Sonic bit on their words, as they were now ignoring them. After another few retorts fell on deaf ears, the metal chicken decided to slowly drop the bomb on them to rile them up again.

"Fine, don't respond." Scratch said with rolled eyes. "I guess you guys are too serious to have any fun with. C'mon, let's get back to work, guys."

And with that statement, they did just that, now moping up the floor in another part of the prison.

Scratch finally spoke up to rile them up, commenting loudly to the Freedom Fighters as he worked, "Look on the bright side at least, rodents. At least you'll be reunited with that big dumb cat who stupidly tried to play hero."

That statement instantly got their attention, as Sonic inquired, "And what would you know about that exactly, dumb bot?"

"Oh, nothing…" Scratch answered nonchalantly. "Just talking is all."

He then began to whistle, but Sally quickly spoke, saying firmly, "You might as well spill the beans. It's obvious you're trying to give us some information you think we have to hear."

Again, Scratch played dumb, replying with a shrug, "I don't know what you're talking about. You must be hearing things."

By this point, both Sonic and Sally were losing all of their patience over his mind games, as his bantering was start to wear on their emotional state.

After thirty seconds, the metal chicken finally spoke up, saying, "Maybe if you would learn to speak idiot, I'd tell you everything. But, since you don't, I'd only be wasting my breath, or battery power I should say that is in my case…"

"Whatever." Sally muttered, trying to fire back at him. "We're just dropping IQ points talking to a metal dunce like yourself anyhow."

Scratch then said angrily in response, "Go ahead and make light of our intelligence! At least we're not in jail!"

When neither of them shot back again at his wisecrack, the metal chicken wasted no more dragging it out, as he soon added to blow the whistle out of the blue, "Not to mention we're not so dumb to use a roboticizer either."

The second those words fell from his metal beak, Sonic, along with Sally and Tails let out a horrifying gasp. They now knew what he was driving at.

"You mean to tell me you're the ones responsible for what happened to Big?" Sally demanded.

"Maybe…" Scratch replied with a sly grin on his face, though neither of the Freedom Fighters in the jail could see due to him being in another room.

Sonic instantly lost his cool after hearing this, soon muttering with a hiss, "Why you lowdown, despicable…"

"Aw, what's the matter, hedgehog?" Grounded inquired, interrupting him, now speaking up again. "Does it really pain you to hear this news? It's your own fault you left him all alone to fend for himself. I guess that really was a dumb move on your part. Heh heh!"

Grounder had put a lot of emphasis on the word dumb to clearly rub it in their faces.

Sally by this point was also seething inside. To hear these three dumb bots had craftfully taken Big away from Vanilla and Cream was more than she could stand.

Sensing their anger, Scratch, along with Grounder and Coconuts walked back to their cell, with the metal chicken saying with a sneer, "I bet you really want to hurt us now, don't you?"

Scratch then added with a hearty cackle before either of them spoke up, "Too bad you can't! You're clearly trapped inside that cell with no way out! Ah ha ha ha!"

Moments later, all three dumb bots heartlessly laughed at them, sticking their metal tongues at the three Freedom Fighters, saying eventually with a jeering taunt while their hands were by their cheeks, "Na na, n-na na!"

And with those words, the three of them left, laughing heartily at their foe's fate.

Sonic then turned to Sally and said with gritted teeth, "When I escape from this cell, I swear I'm going to cut them to ribbons."

"And just how do you plan to do when we can't even escape?" Sally inquired frustrated. "The bars are electrified and the ground is solid concrete. There's not even a window in the back. Face it, there's no way out!"

"You mean we're… doomed?" Tails asked, with tears coming down his cheeks. Tails during this time had been very quiet due to being a bit traumatized about having Snively holding a lethal syringe over him.

Sally felt guilty for her last statement since it upset Tails. So she told him putting an arm on his shoulder, "No, we're not doomed, not yet anyway, honey. Our comrades are still out there. Perhaps they'll find out where we are and rescue us."

Sonic however knew better. The chances of any of them being able to blast through and free them were a 1,000 to 1. He then put a hand over his chin and began to think long and hard.

Sally was tempted to make a joke about it, but this was no time to make light of a situation. So she asked instead, "What's on your mind, Sonic?"

"I'm trying to come up with a plan to escape, Sal. But you're right about one thing. We can't cut through the bars, can't dig our way out, and we certainly can't blast a hole in the wall. It seems the only way out is if someone…"

Just then, a big grin came over Sonic's face. So much in fact it made Sally arch an eyebrow.

"Ok, mind telling me why you're grinning like that?" she inquired with deep curiosity.

"Simple, Sal. I know how we can get out of here."

"How?" Tails asked puzzled

"There's no way out on our own, right?"

"Right." Sally and Tails replied simultaneously.

"So, the only way is if someone from the outside opens the door for us."

"And just who do you expect to do that, Sonic?" Sally asked. "Snively sure won't, and neither will the Swatbots."

"No, but how about one the dumb bots?"

Sally immediately began to frown. "Are you suggesting we get them to open the door for us? Not even they are that stupid."

"No, but what if we trick into thinking they'll be in trouble if they don't?"

"Sonic, either you're sitting on one very hot poker hand, or you've got to be the biggest bluffer I've ever seen."

The blue hedgehog quickly flashed a grin at her, replying, "Oh, I've got a sweet hand all right."

"Ok, now you've got me really curious." Sally said with a frown. "Mind telling me what you got cooked up?"

Sonic then whispered in her ear, making Sally eventually smile big within seconds.

"Am I genius or what?" the blue hedgehog inquired with a boast.

"What can I say; you really are one smart hedgehog." She said with flirtatious smile. "This time anyway…

"I know, I know…"

"What are you guys talking about?" Tails asked curious

"Just play along, big guy." Sonic told him. "We'll explain later."

While Tails was trying to figure it out, Sonic got into position. Sally then shouted, "Hey dumb bots, Come quick!"

Surprisingly, they came running up with Scratch demanding, "What do you want, Princess? A last request?"

"No, I know you're too cruel to do something that generous." She replied nonchalantly.

"Then why did you yell for us?" Grounder asked. "I'll bet it's a trap!"

"Of course it is!" Scratch said, smacking him upside the head. "Why else are they trying to get our attention? They're obviously planning something to try and retaliate for what we just told them earlier. C'mon, let's get back to work."

However, before they could leave, Sally said to them in a mocking tone of voice, "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"Oh yea, and why not?" Coconuts demanded, looking at the squirrel princes intently.

"Because, you'll be in trouble with the boss."

Scratch then looked Sally in the eye and said, "Stop trying to bait us! We're not gonna fall for your dumb trap."

"You're right; you're too smart for us." Sally commented with a smirk.

Unfortunately, that smirk made Scratch walk up to the bars, demanding with a metal finger pointed at her from his right hands. "What are you up to? Tell us or else!"

"Or else what? You gonna get us roboticized? In case you haven't realized, we're already getting that fate."

The metal chicken was now tired of her mind games, so he told the others, "We're wasting our time here, let's go!"

As they turned to leave, she added, "Ok then. I guess you won't mind having to answer to Snively for your carelessness then."

That little verbal jab made them stop in their tracks again and head back. "What do you mean by that?" Grounder demanded.

"Haven't you noticed something?" Sally said smugly.

"What?" Coconuts inquired, still clueless.

"Maybe you should take a closer look inside the cell." The squirrel princess remarked.

They finally did so, and there they saw what she was driving at… Sonic was nowhere in sight."

"Hey, where did he go?" Scratch asked, now in shock. "You better tell us, Princess!"

"Ok, I'll tell you." She replied with a smug look on her face. "He escaped."

"WHAT?" the three of them shouted that at the same time.

"That's impossible!" Coconuts argued, rubbing his forehead. "This cell is sealed tight."

"Normally, yes… but you guys seriously underestimated Sonic this time." Sally said.

"How so?" Grounder demanded

"After you guys left, he found a hole in the ground and is now digging a tunnel for our escape."

"You're bluffing!" Scratch yelled at her.

"Ok then, I guess Snively won't mind having you three for paper weights." Sally commented

Finally, Tails was starting to figure out what they were up to. Being idiots, most of the dumb bots were now starting to believe her story.

But Scratch said, still not buying it, "Nice try, but you're not gonna bait me into some crazy scheme."

"Then tell me, if I'm lying, where is Sonic?" Sally asked with a smirk

"Uh, well, he's probably hiding somewhere in this cell." The metal chicken explained.

"Uh huh. You sure you want to risk your lives on that conclusion?"

Unfortunately for the dumb bots, Snively had indeed threatened to turn them into paper weights if they didn't shape up, making even Scratch start to believe it somewhat.

"Doh, fine! We'll take a look inside the cell! But don't you dare make a false move, or we'll have the Swatbots zap you!" Scratch threatened.

Scratch then turned off the electricity and opened the cell, but with extreme caution.

The three dumb bots then looked almost everywhere, but Sonic was nowhere in sight, making them panic.

"Where did he go?" Scratch demanded

"He went through this hole." Tails replied

However, the hole was so small, not even the three dumb bots believed it.

"Yea right." Grounder said with a frown "You're bluffing."

"Boy, are you guys in trouble now." Sally said, in a tattling tone of voice. "Wait till Snively sees what you did."

"Stop lying! We're not falling for this!" Scratch yelled

Grounder though was starting to tremble. "But Scratch, if they're lying, how did Sonic escape?"

"How should I know?" the metal chicken replied "Besides, how do we even know he did escape?"

"If you'll look in this hole," Tails said, now joining in. "You'll see it expands when you press against it."

"What? That's crazy talk!" Coconuts shouted

"Suit yourself." Sally said nonchalantly

Finally, they couldn't stand it anymore, and now kneeled down to test this theory

"Hey! This doesn't expand when you press against it!" Scratch protested.

The split second he made that statement, the trap was instantly sprung, as Sally quickly yelled, "Now, Sonic!"

Before they could even turn their heads, Sonic came out of nowhere and nailed the three dumb bots flat onto the ground, leveling them to the ground after performing three successive spin dashes from three different directions after landing, seriously damaging them in the process.

What neither of the dumb bots realized, Sonic was hiding directly on top in the center of the ceiling, using his spikes to keep him in place It was the only spot of the jail they failed to examine closely in the entire cell.

The blue hedgehog would have attacked them further due to his anger against them, but Sally finally spoke up, saying firmly, "That's enough, Sonic. We don't have time to destroy these stupid bots. We need to escape and now!"

Realizing she was right, Sonic reluctantly agreed, saying to the dumb bots before exiting the cell, "Nice to see you're still as gullible as ever. I'll deal with you morons next time. Gotta juice…"

And with that statement, they ran out of the cell as fast they could.

"I knew it was a trap!" Scratch yelled angrily, getting up slowly from the damage Sonic did to his metal body. "C'mon, we gotta stop them before Snively the great finds out!"

Unfortunately for them, the small dictator would indeed find about this, and a lot sooner than he thought. Snively by this time had arrived in the prison with three Swatbots armed with electronic shackle guns behind to prepare for the roboticization of his enemies.

However, he didn't get the chance. Snively soon saw them trying to make a run for it in front of his eyes, making his jaw almost drop. He then ordered his robotic soldiers in a fit of rage, "Incarcerate those wretched rodents, now!"

But again, the blue hedgehog beat Snively's robots to the punch, as he quickly knocked them to the ground with a precise and on target triple spin to their metal chests before they could fire, sending two Swatbots crashing to the floor back first with a loud thud, now heavily stunned.

As for the third, it soon pointed its electronic shackle gun at Sonic and attempted to open fire.

Sonic though made quick work of this remaining robot still standing, attacking it with another triple spin, this time at its metal legs, sending it flying several feet forwards into the air.

Snively ironically would also be affected of Sonic's attack, though only moderately hindered, as the Swatbot soon crashed on top of him in a sprawled position, trapping him underneath it unharmed.

Sonic then whistled at Sally and Tails and motioned for them to run on by. Once they did, the blue hedgehog soon saw Snively's new predicament, now tempted to finish him off where he now laid.

However, the other two Swatbots soon sat up, again pointing the same guns at him from before.

"Forget it, Sonic!" Sally shouted at him from a short distance ahead of him. "We don't have the proper weapons to deal with this many now."

Sadly, the blue hedgehog knew she had a point. Before he knew it, the dumb bots by this time had also gotten back on their feet and prepared to give their boss a hand in an attempt to smooth over the rough spots of their previous mistake.

Sonic then gritted his teeth in disgust, replying with a deep breath, "Very well… let's go."

His timing couldn't have been better. The split second he took off to escape with them, the same two Swatbots from before opened fire at him to try and take the blue hedgehog out, but missed by a long shot.

Several seconds later, the three dumb bots ran towards their boss from under the Swatbot sprawled on top of him, saying with a tug of his right sleeve, "Don't worry sir, we'll get you out of there."

Once he was free, Snively did not thank them. Instead, he demanded to the three dumb bots in a rage, "How did those wretched rodents escape my impenetrable cell? Who's responsible for letting them get out? Answer me!"

Not surprisingly, neither of these bots wanted to answer that. They knew Snively would deal with them severely if he discovered the truth.

When he saw they were clamming up and looking on with guilt, stammering to say one sentence, he had a strong inkling what had just happened. Nevertheless, due to the current situation, he muttered with a fierce glare towards them, "Never mind… I'll deal with you nincombots later."

And with that statement, the small dictator activated the code red alarm button in the prison room on the wall nearby, as it now blared loudly in the entire building, putting all the Swatbots inside of it on full alert.

While this was happening, Manic and Sonia soon saw the Swatbots near the vents, guarding their room leave abruptly.

"What's going on?" Manic asked

"I think our bro might have pulled off a brilliant escape." Sonia replied. "C'mon, let's give them a hand!"

As for Sonic and the others, the blue hedgehog muttered at Sally as they ran, "I could have taken Snively out, Sal. Why didn't you let me do it?"

"Sonic, use your head." Sally shot back, looking at him. "He was heavily trapped underneath a Swatbot. For you to have been able to attack that creep successfully, you would've had to pry that bot off first to do any major damage." She then added firmly, "There was no time for you to do that with two more Swatbots nearby and the dumb bots chasing us down from behind."

"What about my sonic tornado attack?" Sonic inquired with a frown. "I could have sent him spinning inside with that bot on top of him and then finished off needle nose with ease with seconds."

"Even if you did use that attack," Sally shot back, "you still haven't factored in that one of the dumb bots could have pressed the code red alarm button while you sent him spinning inside, thus amplifying our problems a hundred fold."

"What are you talking about, Sal?" Sonic asked.

"Think for a second, Sonic!" Sally scolded. "What would you have done if a swarm of Swatbots quickly came rushing in and took us prisoner before you could deal with that maniac appropriately?"

Sonic sadly hadn't thought of that, though blew it off, saying, "Ah, you worry too much, Sal. I doubt that many Swatbutts would've showed up that soon."

Ironically though, the blue hedgehog would soon eat those words. Within three seconds, a dozen Swatbots surrounded them from all angles once they arrived in a room a few rooms from the exit, with their guns aimed at their heads.

"You were saying, Sonic hedgehog?" Sally muttered with a frown.

"Doh, man…" Sonic moaned with a hand on his forehead. "I hate it when you're right."

"Surrender!" They ordered

The blue hedgehog didn't even answer them, as he attacked quickly with back to back triple spin attacks to knock five to the ground, where he then made a Sonic tornado a split second later, engulfing another four from within.

Once he did that, Sonic said to his comrades after landing on the ground, "Hop on, guys. I'm getting us out of here, pronto!"

Before Sally could ask him what he meant by that, the blue hedgehog grabbed her firmly in his arms, ordering T2 a split second later, "Jump into my backpack, now!"

With three Swatbots about to open fire on them, the two tailed fox didn't have to be told twice. The split second he climbed inside of it, Sonic said with firm vigor while revving up his legs, "Let's race, ace!"

And race they did, as Sonic blasted off, leaving them in the dust.

While they ran for it, Snively finally made his way to his main quarters to keep a close eye on his foes.

He then commented, brooding with rage while banging on the dash of his chair several times with his right hand, "I cannot believe those wretched rodents outwitted me again. I should have known better than to send those stupid robots to clean up the prison room before they were sentenced. I'm almost certain they had something to do with their escape!"

Ten seconds later, Sonic and others were again surrounded by five Swatbots two rooms later. Seeing only one way of escape, the blue hedgehog then ran towards them as they went to open fire, jumping high into the air to leap over Snively's robots, as well as the lasers that came his way

Once the blue hedgehog landed on the ground, he soon took off again after landing past them, saying with a taunting jab, "Better luck next time, metal heads."

Ironically, they would indeed have better luck the next encounter against him. The following room, another five blocked the next door near the exit. However, unlike the last encounter, Snively had his robots adjust to Sonic's latest evasive maneuver trick, where two of them now stood directly underneath the open door to put him in a bind.

Sonic quickly discovered this, making him stop in his tracks.

"Doh, man!" he muttered. "How am I going to get out of this?"

With him currently carrying his friends, any triple spin or tornado attacks were out of the question. Ironically though, that would be the least of his concerns. The Swatbots from behind he had out leaped earlier soon caught up to him, and there they, along with three from front opened fire.

Sonic then jumped high into the air to evade the oncoming lasers, not realizing this evasive tactic was playing right into Snively's hands. Once he was high enough, Snively had one of the Swatbots that were standing underneath the door way fire Snively's new weapon again at the blue hedgehog's legs, rending them immobile.

"Hey, I can't move my feet!" Sonic said, struggling to move

"Don't bother, hedgehog!" Snively said over a video screen a split second later. "That is one of my latest weapons developed against you, the electronic shackle blaster."

Sonic still tried to get free from its effects, but it was all for naught. Snively's new weapon had put a tight electric field around the blue hedgehog's legs.

The small dictator then spoke up a second later, saying, "You know, I'm still very tempted to have you roboticized after your little stunt here, but like my rotten Uncle, I changed my mind."

A split second later, he ordered his robotic soldiers with a vile smug grin on his face, "Blast them!"

However, like his Uncle Julian from before, he would too fail at taking him out. Before the Swatbots could even take one shot, a big explosion came in from behind and wiped out two Swatbots standing in front of the door. Sonic and the others looked ahead and saw it was Sonia and Manic, using their last pipe bomb.

"You again? Stop them!" Snively ordered.

Sonia though picked up one of the shackle guns from a nearby destroyed Swatbot and fired it at their comrades, setting them free. Manic meanwhile tossed their last smoke bomb to blind the Swatbots standing behind Sonic and the others.

To make matters worse for Snively, Sonia then fired three beams at the remaining robotic soldiers of Snively's, now rending them immobile.

"Let's get outta here, everyone!" Manic shouted, motioning towards the exit with his right hand.

And with that statement, they made a run for it while they had the chance.

Snively by this time became completely unglued after seeing Sonic's siblings bail them out, shouting with another series of bangs on his armrest, "NO! NO! NO! Are you kidding me? They outwitted my trap again?"

The small dictator then let out a very enraged grunt while gritting his teeth, "I'll get those vermin if it's the last thing I do!"

The five Freedom Fighters then ran for the exit, but Snively had one last trick up his sleeve. He said, pressing a button, "Let's see them get out of this! I will not be made a fool of again!"

As they now headed outside, the five of them were instantly greeted by Snively's last gasp effort to apprehend them, none other than twenty five Swatbots standing in their path the second they exited the main building.

Instantly, they all stopped in their tracks horrified.

"Uh oh… This ain't good." Sonic commented

"There's nowhere to run this time, you miserable pests!" Snively taunted. "You're finished. Surrender if you know what's good for you."

"Never!" Sonia yelled, pointing the shackle gun at them to shoot. However to everyone's great shock, the gun now short circuited, eventually fizzling out. As it turned out, the pipe bomb they had used to take out several Swatbots heavily damaged its circuits in the process.

"Now what? "Tails asked, starting to panic.

Snively began to laugh heartily at them over the video screen. "Game over, Freedom Fighters! You're finally through! Prepare to die"

Things looked now hopeless for them, but again, the small tyrant's apparent victory went abruptly south. Out of nowhere, his army was hit by multiple ice beams from above, freezing them right and left.

"What's going on here?" Snively demanded

"Look, it's Dulcy!" Sally said, pointing overhead.

Indeed it was, as she was now carrying Bunnie and Antoine on her back, fully armed again.

After seeing the green dragon himself on his monitors, Snively then ordered his army, "Destroy her!"

However, before they could take one shot, the rest of them began to get hit by multiple pipe bombs being tossed at them, blasting Snively's metal soliders to metal pieces.

"No! This can't be happening!" the small tyrant yelled, putting both hands on his head in horror as he watched.

But indeed it was. Before the small dictator could even comprehend what had just took place, his twenty five Swatbot army had received heavy casualties, taking out over 80% within seconds.

"Next time, don't count your chickens before they hatch!" Bunnie yelled, heaving several more bombs from above. Within ten seconds, the entire Swatbot army that stood near the building had been completely eradicated, reduced to nothing more than metal popsicles and a pile busted scrap metal.

Sonic and the others quickly made a run for it with the path now cleared.

By this time, it was all Snively could do to remain composed, shouting while raising his hands in a tantrum, "I hate you, wretched rodents! I HATE YOU BAD!"

Sonic just smirked and said to him on the video screen gloating before taking off, "You messed with the bull, so you got the horns! Until next time, Snobley!"

And with those words, all the Freedom Fighters ran from Robotropolis and headed back to Knothole.

Ten minutes later, they arrived back at their home exhausted. It had been a very grueling battle to say the least.

"Well, at least it wasn't a total loss." Sonic commented, trying to put a positive spin on their latest mission.

"Not exactly." Sally said somberly. "We failed again to install the virus and almost got roboticized."

"I know," he said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "But don't give up hope. We'll get it done next time."

Sally though was beginning to wonder if they would ever successfully plant the virus onto Robotnik's main hard drive.

She then turned to her best friend and told her with a smile, "Thanks for bailing us out back there. Your timing couldn't have been better."

"No problem, Sally girl…" Bunnie replied, giving her a smile back. "Happy to help out."

"Where did you get those extra explosives anyway?" Sonic inquired.

"I had Dulcy fly us back to Knothole as fast as she could and get Chuck and Sugar Rot to build us some more on the double." The cyborg rabbit explained. "To be honest, I didn't even know you guys had been taken prisoner. Ant and I were actually going back in rescue Tails." She then added with a shrug, "I guess you could say we were at the right place at the right time."

"So that's why you were riding her…" Sally concluded.

After a long pause, the squirrel princess said composing herself, "Let's call it a night, everyone. Tomorrow's another big day for us. First thing in the morning, I'm gonna start strategizing for our next mission."

The others agreed as they nodded their heads and headed for their huts, as they were indeed beat.

Meanwhile in Snively's main quarters, he now got a full inquire of what went wrong.

"Who's responsible for letting those three Freedom Fighters escape?" he demanded of a Swatbot on a video screen.

"It is none other than your custodian bots, sir." The Swatbot replied.

"WHAT? Are you telling me those idiots let Sonic and his friends escape?"

"Affirmative." It answered again. "They opened the cell and then were ambushed."

Snively was now so angry inside, steam was starting to come out of his ears.

"Shall I have them junked for their blunders?" the Swatbot inquired

The small dictator was about to give that order, when another Swatbot then came on screen, announcing after the change in video feed, "Snively the Great, We have captured several unknown Mobian citizens near the city limits."

"What? What do you mean unknown?" Snively demanded with arched eyebrows.

"See for yourself, sir."

Instantly, the video screen changed, and there he saw three Mobians he had never seen before being escorted to the roboticizer room.

"Are they Freedom Fighters?" the small dictator interrogated.

"That is currently unknown, sir." The same Swatbot answered after the video footage changed back to his image on screen.

"Run a full background check on them at once." Snively ordered. "I want to know if these three have anything useful we can use against the scum rodent rebellion."

Within ten minutes, he received the report. Not surprisingly, they had no connections to any of the current Freedom Fighter teams, or network for that matter.

"So, they're just a bunch of low life rodents…" the small dictator commented with arched eyebrows. "I guess I might as well roboticize them and get new workers at least."

However, as he read their bio further, something caught his eye, making him furrow his brow even more, saying, "Hmmm… so they actually do have a checkered past, quite a substantial one too…"

Just then, a smirk came over his face. He had now come up with a brilliant idea.

"Well, since they're very skilled in this one particular area, I might be able to use it my advantage." He commented.

"Shall we start the roboticizing process, sir?" the same Swatbot on screen ordered.

"Not yet…" Snively instructed. "Send them to my main quarters for now. I want to interrogate them first."

"As you wish, Snively the great." It replied.

After the screen cut out, the small dictator rubbed his hands together, stating with a vile chuckle on his face, "This maybe just what I need to turn the tide against these wretched rodents…"

To be continued...


	2. New Recruits, or Secret Spies

**Chapter 2: New Recruits, or Secret Spies?**

The next morning at Knothole, Sally awoke from her bed and changed from her nightgown to her usual attire. After having some breakfast, she began discussing with Nicole about the team's next mission in her hut.

About thirty minutes into this, Bunnie opened her door and greeted her best friend warmly.

"Hey, Sally girl, how you doing?"

Sally sighed and answered softly, "Ok, I guess."

"Something bothering ya?" the cyborg rabbit asked, walking towards her.

"Yea, unfortunately…"

"Well, tell me about it." Bunnie said, now standing near the right side of her chair.

"Its just… failing our mission last night really bothered me more than usual."

"Why's that, Sally girl?"

"I don't know." The squirrel princess answered softly. "I just… well, was really hoping we would be able to put an end to this war by now. But, I guess that's not going to happen anytime soon."

Bunnie then put an arm around her shoulder and said, "Now don't go beating yourself up, Sugar. You can't expect that little creep to just roll over and surrender so quickly. Things like this take time."

Sally sighed sadly and replied, "I know. But I have to tell you, all of this planning and fighting really is starting to take on serious toll on my emotional well being."

"Well, that's what we are here for." Bunnie explained, looking her friend in the eye "You shouldn't put so much of this responsibility on your shoulders."

Sally knew she couldn't argue with that. It was true. She was indeed expecting too much at times, especially from herself.

Bunnie then told her, "Don't worry so much. Y'all need to take a break every now and then and enjoy life, as well spend some quality time with your friends. After all, we all need support from one another to get through this war together."

Sally couldn't help but smile at her best friend after she put it that way, stating "You really know how to brighten my spirits, don't you? Thanks."

"Anytime, Sugar. Now why don't you go take a break now and have some fun." Bunnie then ribbed Sally and said with a smirk, "Maybe take a nice walk with your Sugar hog, huh?"

Sally instantly blushed at her suggestion, eventually replying, "Uh, well, I can't now."

"Why not, Sally girl?"

"Because he and Tails are taking a run together through the Great Forest."

"Oh, I see."

After a few seconds of awkward silence, Bunnie then asked out of the blue, "So, um, how's the development on the deroboticizer coming along anyhow?"

"Well, it's still not ready unfortunately. It's has a lot of bugs yet to be resolved."

"I figured as much." The cyborg rabbit said sadly with a heavy sigh.

"Although, you should know it should ready within the coming months."

"That's good to hear." Bunnie commented encouraged.

Sally then asked her after another period of awkward silence, "Hey, um, mind if I ask you a personal question?"

"Sure, Sally girl, shoot."

"Are you… ok with yourself?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I mean, with the fact that you're still half metal?"

Bunnie then looked away in embarrassment, which made Sally think she had offended her best friend with her question. But before Sally could say another word, Bunnie answered softly, "To be honest, no, not really."

"I didn't mean to offend you," the ground squirrel told her, looking at the floor. "I was just curious."

"Ah know. Its ok, Sugar. I guess this is part of the price of being involved in a war."

"Indeed so…" Sally then inquired of Bunnie with clearing of her throat, "Could I ask you another personal question?"

"Ask away, Sally girl."

"If… you weren't deroboticized until after the war was over, would you be ok with that?"

"What do you mean?" Bunnie inquired puzzled. "Ah thought you said the deroboticizer was gonna be ready within a few months."

"I know. But I've been thinking… Your metal arm and legs give you a strong advantage when you fight."

"True, but I don't care about that," the cyborg rabbit told her friend firmly, looking at Sally with sad eyes. "I want to be like you, beautiful and attractive."

"But you are beautiful, Bunnie." Sally reasoned, now looking at her best friend with empathy.

"Ah know, to a certain degree. Still, every morning when I wake up and feel metal around me… it's very hard for me to not break down and weep at times."

Sally couldn't deny this at all, even if she never had to deal with anything like it before. "True," she replied, "in fact, I do wonder at times how you can stay positive so much in spite of all this."

"Well, Sally girl, it hasn't been easy, let me tell you." Bunnie told her firmly. "But, I've just made up my mind to make the best of this until I can be changed back to normal. No point in fussing over something that's out of your control."

"Nicely well put." The ground squirrel commented, nodding her head.

After a few seconds of silence, Bunnie said to her, "Anyway, to answer your question, ah suppose if it would help us win the war staying this way, I would do it for the team, but it would be very difficult for me emotionally."

"I understand." Sally said, nodding her head at the cyborg rabbit sympathetically. "But just know, I'll be here for you if you ever need any moral support. I promise you, I won't let you go through hardship with giving you a helping hand."

Deeply touched by her genuine words, Bunnie said in response, giving her friend a warm hug, "Thanks, you're the best, Sugar."

After the cyborg rabbit let go, she said, "Well, I guess I'll let you get back to your work."

"You're leaving already?" Sally asked in disappointment

"Yea, I've got someone I need to talk to."

"Who's that?" Sally inquired

Bunnie began to slight blush in her cheeks, mumbling, "Uh, well, just a friend."

The ground squirrel of course got a hint of what it could be, so she said ribbing her back, "Oh, I see. It wouldn't happen to be Manic now, would it?"

Bunnie's cheeks now turned an ever darker shade of red, inquiring defensively, "Now where in Mobius did you get a crazy idea like that?"

"Hey, a best friend knows these kind of things." Sally replied smiling. "Besides, I couldn't help but notice that you've been hanging around him a bit lately. So, you could say I've put two and two together."

Bunnie then sighed deeply and commented impressed, "Smart as tree bark I see."

Sally then stood up from her chair and said, "Hey, don't fret about it. I understand. Although, I would like you to explain one thing to me."

"What's that?" the cyborg rabbit inquired.

"You mind telling me why you have feelings for him? I mean, why not give Antoine or Rotor a chance first?"

"Well, Antoine's cute and all, but his cowardly demeanor really gets on my nerves. And Rotor… well, it's kind of complicated, especially with him being a mechanic and all. If you catch my drift…

Sally nodded her head, as she did understand what Bunnie was trying to say, asking further, "So you like Manic because…"

"Well, to be honest, I'm not really sure why." Bunnie answered, now looking at the floor embarrassed while slightly rubbing her right metal foot against it. "I guess it's because I always thought Sonic was cute and stuff, but since you two have feelings for each other, I decided to try and get to know his brother better instead. I mean, if Sugarhog is good looking, surely Manic can't be far behind."

"I see." Sally then said with a lot of awkwardness in her voice, "Um, you do realize he was raised by a thief at the shelter, right?"

"Uh, no. I didn't know that."

"Yea, I probably should've mentioned that earlier." The squirrel princess stated, looking at the floor with a bit of guilt in her eyes. "My fault…"

"Aw, that's ok." Bunnie replied with a warm smile. "Besides, Manic's one of us now. He won't try that on me." She then added while swinging her right metal forward half jokingly," And if he does, he'll get what for."

Sally put a hand in front of her face, commenting with a giggle, "Yea, I think he'll be on his best behavior after hearing that."

The two of them shared a girly laugh together after Sally had said that. After they calmed down several seconds later, she then commented with intrigue, "now wouldn't that be interesting, us dating two guys from the same family."

"Speaking of dating, Sally girl." Bunnie said. "There's something I've been meaning to ask you as well."

"Sure, go ahead."

"Are you and Sonic currently in a relationship now?"

Sally looked away embarrassed and answered, "Uh, well, I guess so. We just haven't technically made it official."

"I see. You know, you ought to talk this over with Sugarhog." Bunnie said, ribbing her best friend again. "I mean, especially after that passionate kiss you gave each other some time ago, there must be something special between you two."

"Uh…yes, I suppose I should." Deep down, the squirrel princess was deeply embarrassed to talk about her love life.

"Well, anyway, I'll talk to you later, Sally girl. Take care." Bunnie said, walking out while waving her metal arm.

After Bunnie left her hut, Sally began to think over what her best friend had told her.

Bunnie's right, she thought to herself, I do need to talk this over with Sonic. After all, how else do I know where we currently stand?

Meanwhile an hour later, Sonic and Tails finished their morning exercises, now standing in front of the Great Forest.

"Not bad, lil bro." Sonic told him while breathing heavily. "You showed some really mondo speed back there."

"Really? You think I'll ever be as fast as you?" Tails asked, looking at him psyched up.

"Maybe… just take it one day at time though, T2." The blue hedgehog said, playfully tapping him on the shoulder. "You'll know your true potential soon enough."

After briefly pondering that last statement of the blue hedgehog's in his mind, the two tailed fox eventually said softly, "Well, I guess we better head back to Knothole then for some breakfast."

"Sounds good to me." Sonic commented with delight. "I've got a deep hankering for some of Roxy's chilidogs now."

However, as they began to walk back into the forest, the two of them heard strange rumblings in the distance.

"What's that sound?" Tails asked perplexed.

It soon became evident. But what they saw made them look on bewildered.

"Am I seeing things?" Sonic asked in shock. "It looks like Snurvely's chasing a couple of Mobians with his entire army in the distance."

Tails took a good look and also confirmed it. "You're right, Sonic. They are. What's going on here? What is that needle nosed dictator wasting his time on a bunch of nobodys? This isn't like him at all…"

"I don't know, but something seriously smells here." The blue hedgehog commented frowning. "And it ain't our sweat."

"What do we do then?" Tails asked, now looking at him intently.

"You get the others and have them meet me here, pronto." He instructed the two tailed fox. "I'll find out what's really going on in the meantime."

"Got it."

With no time to lose, Tails quickly took off towards the Knothole entrance, flying there as fast as he could.

Sonic meanwhile ran towards the three Mobians being hunted, trying to figure out why Snively was attacking them so aggressively.

He then heard the small dictator shouted with rage in a Hover Unit, following them closely from behind, "I'll teach you filthy beasts to think you can steal from me!"

"Oh yea?" One of them challenged. "Well if you want this back so bad, try and take it from us, Shorty."

"With pleasure, bird brain!"

By this time, Sonic was able to get close enough to see what these three Mobians were. They were none other than a green bird carrying bombs, a large, yet hideous orange looking dingo and an even larger tan colored bear.

Moments later, the small tyrant fired laser after laser from his hover unit as aggressively as possible. Strangely though, all his shots were slightly off target. In fact, all the shots from his army too also missed.

Now Sonic knew something was up. This was not just a normal attack.

Just then, the green bird tossed a bomb at Snively's window from behind, trying reducing his visibility on his Hover Unit. But like the small dictator's attacks, he missed, hitting the part of the Hover Unit several feet above it.

Before the blue hedgehog could ponder this further, they finally ran behind him to try to hide behind him as a means to shield themselves.

"All right, what's going on here?" Sonic demanded. "Who are you three, and why is Snurvely hunting you down?"

"You gotta help us!" the orange dingo pleaded. "That creep's gonna turn us into robots!"

Before Sonic could ask them any questions, he was abruptly interrupted by a laser blast that almost hit him. He then looked at Snively through his cockpit window and told him, "Ok, needle nose, what's the game here? This isn't like you at all to send your whole army after three losers like these guys."

"Hey, I resent that!" the large tan bear remarked.

"Shut up, rodent!" Snively ordered, ignoring the previous statement. He quickly turned to the three Mobians from behind, ordering them loudly, "Hand over the disk you stole from me this instant!"

"What disk?" Sonic inquired, looking at Snively with arched eyebrows.

"I wasn't speaking to you, blue boy!" the small dictator shot back.

Sonic then asked the green bird, "What's he jabbering about anyway?"

That same bird quickly pulled out a CD from his pocket and replied, "This disk has Snively's latest plans on it."

"You've got to be kidding me…" the blue hedgehog commented, not convinced one iota. "How in the world did you get secret information like that anyhow? Not even Sal has been able to do that!"

"We were able to pull it off thanks to our incredible computer hacking skills." The green bird explained, soon adding, "Not to mention we're professional black market bounty hunters."

Again, Sonic didn't believe a word of it, not even when the orange dingo said, "When we found out this was Snively's top secret plans, we planned to turn it over to you for a hefty price."

"Just how hefty are we talking here?" the blue hedgehog demanded, still very skeptical inside.

"Oh, say around… five thousand Mobiums." The tan bear answered with a sly grin on his face.

"Are you nuts?" Sonic demanded. "We don't have that kind of money on us!"

"Well, we'd be selling it for even one thousand." The green bird replied. "If you have it that is…"

"Oh, that does it…" The blue hedgehog muttered. "Give me that!"

"What do you think you're doing?" the green bird exclaimed after Sonic took it out of his hands.

"Giving this disk back to old needle nose, what else? You think I was born yesterday? It probably has a virus on it!"

"NO, DON'T!" the three mysterious Mobians shouted in a panic, running after him, eventually clinging to his right leg to slow him down. "That's the only thing keeping us from getting roboticized!"

"I've had enough of your games here. Now let go!" Sonic shot back while walking towards Snively's Hover Unit, trying to abruptly shake them off of his leg as he did so.

But before he could, Sonic's teammates showed up. They even came with several backpacks of ammo as a precaution.

"What's going on?" Sally asked

"Snobley's here trying to bait with another crazy scheme." The blue hedgehog replied with a frown.

"Believe what you want, Sonic," Snively said sharply. "But that disk has vital files on it. I must have it back! Now hand it over or I'll sic my Swatbots on your miserable hides!"

"Fine, needle nose! Take back your stupid…"

"Sonic, wait!" Sally said, grabbing his right arm

"What?"

"Maybe there is something useful on that disk."

"Oh, c'mon, Sal. Don't tell me you're falling for this nonsense too?"

"Of course not, Sonic. I'm just saying let's have Nicole take a good look at it first before deciding."

The blue hedgehog couldn't argue with that. "Doh, oh all right."

"Last chance, rodents!" Snively warned

"Forget it, bub. I've changed my mind!" Sonic retorted boldly.

"In that case, prepare to die!" the small tyrant shouted

"Not gonna happen!" Sonic declared, getting in position to duel. He then said to his comrades, "Let's get em, guys!"

As the Freedom Fighters got out their ammo from their backpacks, Snively's army aimed their weapons at them.

"ATTACK!" Snively yelled.

And with that, the battle was on.

"Prepare to fry, rodent!" Snively shouted to Sonic from inside his hover unit.

"I'm too fast to be your main course, needle nose!" the blue hedgehog retorted, taking off.

Instantly Snively fired laser after laser at Sonic as he charged towards him, but missed. To Sonic's surprise, Snively again was a bad shot.

What's going on here? Sonic thought, while evading his attacks. It's like he's intentionally throwing the battle.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Freedom Fighters were taking it to his Swatbots. With Sally synchronizing the team's directives in perfect harmony, they were easily defeating Snively's robotic forces one by one.

However, their defeats were a little too easy for the Princess' taste, making her arch an eyebrow.

Bunnie meanwhile during this time knocked down Swatbots right and left, punching them in the head, chest, even kicking them to the ground well executed flying round house kicks She even picked one up using her metal hand and launched it ten feet forward.

Sonia also knocked down Swatbots with her feet. Thanks to her martial arts training and super strength ability, the female hedgehog defeated them as well without breaking a sweat.

As for the rest of the Freedom Fighters, they used pipe bombs and grenades to blast their foes to bits. Within two minutes, their combined efforts wiped out Snively's entire Swatbot army.

"Whoo-wee!" Bunnie shouted, raising her metal arm victoriously. "We sure took care of those metal heads."

Sally on the other hand couldn't celebrate. She felt like they hardly put up a fight.

Something's not right here, she thought to herself. I mean, they didn't even appear to be trying to win.

Back on the other side, Sonic was keeping Snively busy as he effortlessly tried to fry his blue nemesis to dust. But, he was having no luck.

A minute later, Sonic came to a stop a dozen feet ahead of him and taunted while giving him the raspberries, "What's the matter, Snobley? Lose your touch?"

"Ok, hedgehog, you've asked for it!" he muttered to himself angrily.

Snively then turned up the heat on Sonic, as he fired a new type of weapon from his hover unit. It was a missile that was designed to follow blue hedgehogs no matter they went.

"Whoa, time to juice!" Sonic said, blasting off.

As the missile followed him all over the Great Forest, Snively got out his electronic shackle blaster. He knew the missile would more than likely be unable to keep up with Sonic's speed, so he had a Plan B ready to go.

Sure enough, the blue hedgehog outwitted his toy, as he jumped into the air at the last possible second, making it obliterate a large tree instead with an intense explosion, causing bits of tree bark and leaves to fly everywhere.

Thanks to a well thought out strategy, Sonic had it hit a tree that was isolated from the others, thus keeping its damaging capabilities to a minimum.

While the smoke billowed from its wooden remains, Sonic retorted with a gloat at his foe, "So much for your little gizmo!"

Unfortunately though, his gloating would be very short lived. Within seconds, Snively's electronic shackle gun then abruptly hit him in the legs when he wasn't looking, now locking his feet in place.

"Hey, I can't move!" Sonic shouted, trying to get free.

"Hang on, bro." Manic said from a distance, getting on his hovercraft and flying to his aide.

"Oh, no you don't!" Snively shouted, firing rapidly at the green hedgehog.

Manic evaded shot after shot, but soon was unfortunately hit, as the small tyrant made it so he couldn't avoid every single one. The impact then sent him crashing to the ground with a thud chest first.

Sally instantly gasped upon witnessing this, shouting frantically to her other comrades, "C'mon, guys, we gotta help them!"

Within moments, the other Freedom Fighters charged Snively's hover unit. Seeing he was hopelessly outnumbered, he decided to lure them into a trap to even the odds. He then closed the door on the hover unit as they approached.

"Y'all better come out of there before I turn your little machine into scrap metal!" Bunnie warned fiercely.

"All right, you win, you miserable rodents." He said with hypocritical fear in his voice. "If you'll let me go, I'll release these two furballs in exchange."

"Fine." Sally said firmly. "But first free Sonic and Manic."

"As you wish, Princess." Snively said, coming out and slipping the gun into his pocket.

Snively then pretended to aim the gun at the two hedgehogs to free them, but when he saw that their guard was down, he instead pulled it out and aimed it at Bunnie, immobilizing her feet.

"Hey, what gives?" the cyborg rabbit demanded in shock, trying desperately to get them free

"Ha! You furball are such softies." The small dictator cackled. "I knew you'd be dumb enough to negotiate with me on this matter."

"Oh that does it…" Sally said, now gritting her teeth at him. She then ordered her comrades, "Get him!"

Snively however was one step ahead of them. Before one of them could even come within a foot of attacking him, he had fired multiple beams at all the Freedom Fighters' feet, immobilizing them all.

As they struggled to get free, the small tyrant laughed at their predicament. "And so it ends… You rodents should never have trusted me. Now its time to take care of you troublemakers once and for all!

Seconds later, A Swatbot inside his hover unit brought out a portable roboticizer. Snively then ordered Sonic to be the first to go.

"Any last words, hedgehog?" Snively asked him after he was placed inside of it.

Sonic though glared at him without saying a word in response. He was now ticked at how the momentum of the battle had changed so easily;.

"Got nothing to say, blue boy?" the small dictator mocked. When Sonic continued to give him the silent treatment, he said with a sarcastic huff, "Oh well, that's too bad. Activate the roboticizer!"

"Yes, sir."

But seconds before it could do so, out of nowhere, the three mysterious Mobians finally came to their aide, as the green bird tossed a bomb at the head of the Swatbot, obliterating it to metal pieces upon impact.

"What the…? You bounty hunters dare to interfere with my plans?" the small dictator roared. I'll make paper weights out of you after you're roboticized!"

"That's what you think, Shorty!" the tan bear retorted, now picking up the destroyed Swatbot's electronic shackle gun on the ground.

"Oh no!" Snively screamed, putting his hands on the sides of his head. Now he knew he was in trouble.

Snively then tried to fire a beam at the bear to incarcerate him. Unfortunately for the small dictator though, it was too little too late. By the time it hit his target, Sonic and Bunnie were now free of their electronic shackles.

"And now its time we take down one ugly shrimp for good…" The blue hedgehog declared. "Sonic style."

Deciding to save his own hide, Snively then made a desperate run for his hover unit and got inside of it, where he quickly fired up the engines to take

"We've got to stop him!" Sally shouted. "He's going to get away."

"Oh no he ain't, Sal." Sonic countered. He then turned to Bunnie and said, "hand me a Power Ring, pronto."

Bunnie immediately did as she told, where she quickly ran towards her best friend and grabbed one from Sally's backpack, tossing it to him as fast as she could.

After it was in hands, he added, "Quick, free the others while I deal with old Snurvely."

Speaking of Snively, his Hover Unit soon lifted off of the ground during this time and began to fly away back to Robotropolis.

"Oh no you don't!" Sonic declared, now powering up with his secret weapon, holding it above his head as he did so, "You're not getting away from me that easily!"

After the power up transformation was complete, the blue hedgehog then blasted towards the small dictator's Hover Unit at full speed, preparing to hit him hard with a triple spin attack from behind to bring it down.

However, Snively anticipated this and flew higher into the air a split second before he could, making Sonic miss his aircraft entirely.

While he landed on the ground, Snively mocked loudly at his adversary, "Ha! Nice try, blue boy… but you won't be taking me down today!"

Seeing him start to fly away at an alarming rate, Bunnie shouted at the blue hedgehog, "Forget him, Sugarhog! He's too high for you to do anything now."

Sonic though wasn't about to give up, replying with a grit of his teeth, "I'm not out of tricks yet."

Wanting to make him pay for his craftiness earlier, Sonic went for broke, as he again chased after his foe relentlessly.

"What's he doing?" Sally asked, now puzzled inside.

"I don't have a clue myself." The cyborg rabbit replied, having the same expression on her face.

Meanwhile, Snively began to relax inside, thinking he got away cleanly. That feeling though changed within a heartbeat, as his onboard cameras screen soon showed Sonic closing in a hurry.

"What, that wretched rodent is tailing me again?" the small dictator remarked with arched eyebrows. "Is he that desperate to get back at me?"

Indeed Sonic was. By this time, his power ring abilities were slowly fading away. Nevertheless, he wouldn't quit until there was nothing left of them.

Sonic then jumped high into air like before once he was within range of Snively's Hover Unit appearing to attack it with another triple spin move.

As before, the small dictator prepared to fly higher into the air when he got close enough to do some damage.

This time however, the blue hedgehog faked him out. Once he was within one foot of hitting the hovercraft, he then spun around in a circle, performing none other than a powered up Sonic tornado attack.

Unfortunately for Snively, he never saw it coming. Instead, the large cyclone of wind immediately enveloped him, where he and his Hover Unit were now sent violently spinning inside of it at blistering speeds.

"I HATE YOU, SONIC!" He yelled a few seconds later while getting tossed around like a rag doll.

The Sonic tornado then inadvertently sent him back in the direction of his home, though not in the way he wanted, as he was now spinning out of control towards it.

Once he and the Hover Unit disappeared over the horizon and was out of sight, Sonic dusted his hand in satisfaction, commenting, "That takes care of old needle nose…"

By this time, his power ring abilities were now completely spent.

Moments later, the Freedom Fighters ran up to the blue hedgehog and hoisted him on their shoulders in victory. They now were all free thanks to the cyborg rabbit's efforts.

"Nice job, Sugarhog!" Bunnie exclaimed happily, giving him pat on the back with her non metal arm "You really took it to that nasty villain back there."

"Aw, thanks."

While they were celebrating, the three mysterious Mobians finally came walking up and protested loudly.

"Hey, what about us?" the green bird demanded. "Aren't you gonna thank us for saving you from being roboticized?"

Sonic instantly jumped down from his friend's shoulders and replied while walking up to them, "Yea, I suppose we do." He then added with a frown, "But before we give any thanks here, I want to know one thing first."

"Like what?" the orange dingo inquired

Sonic now stopped a few feet in front of them and crossed his arms together, demanding with a tap of the feet, "First of all, who are you guys anyway, and why was Snively chasing you with his whole robo army anyhow?"

The three of them finally introduced themselves, as the green bird said, "I'm Bean the Dynamite." He then added while pointing to his friends, "And they're Dingo and Bark."

"Really…?" Since Sonic had never heard of them before, he replied with a frown, "Ok, so why was Snively chasing you with that large of a unit? Explain."

"I told you, porcupine," Bean retorted annoyed. "We stole a disk from Snively's lair. Since it had his secret plans on it, he was desperate to get them back."

"Oh, sure you did." Sonic muttered, still not convinced. "And I'm a hedgehog, not a porcupine." He added firmly.

"Hey, we just saved your lives here, hedgehog." Bark shot back. "I think you owe us a thank you."

"I'll thank you as soon as you can give me a proper explanation for how you got a disk not even Sal has been able to retrieve so far." The blue hedgehog retorted.

"Look, if we really were lying," Dingo explained, "we wouldn't have freed you from your electronic shackles."

Before Sonic could answer back, Sally finally came walking up, replying, "He does have a point there…"

"Oh C'mon, Sal. Aren't you the least bit suspicious?"

"Yes, Sonic, I still am." The squirrel princess reiterated. "However, I think we should at least hear them out first before calling them spies."

"And risk exposing Knothole? I don't think so!"

"Relax, Sonic." Sally said. "I've got an idea to test just how dangerous they might be.

"Oh yea, how's that?" the blue hedgehog demanded.

"Observe." Sally then grabbed her computer from her boot and said, "Nicole, run a complete x-ray their bodies to see if these three have any spy equipment."

"Scanning, Sally." Two minutes later, Nicole announced, "No detection of any spy equip."

Sonic then arched an eyebrow, inquiring with deep suspicion "Are you absolutely sure about that, Nicole?"

"100% sure, my main hedgehog."

Sally groaned and said, "I keep forgetting to fix that about her."

"See, we're legit." Bean said. "If we really were spies of Snively's, we'd have all sorts of recording devices and cameras."

Sonic though still wasn't convinced. "Yea, but once we show you Knothole; I'm betting you'll probably head back to Robotropolis after we're asleep and tell old Snobley where we are."

"No we won't." Bean argued, frowning at him. "We don't want any part of that maniac anymore."

Sonic then took Sally aside and asked softly, "You really think we oughta trust these bozos? Their story is just too good to be true. I mean, obtaining a secret disk from needle nose's tight security? That just isn't possible."

Sally had to admit, it did indeed sound very far fetched. Nevertheless, she replied, ""Well, there is a slight chance they might be sincere here. I mean, we still should take precautions, but since they are Mobian citizens, the least we can do is hear them out first."

The blue hedgehog then sighed deeply and said with extreme reluctance, "Oh, all right… But I want them blind folded so they don't know the way in or out to Knothole."

"Consider it done." Sally answered with a nod.

She then walked up to them and said, "Ok, guys, here's the deal. We'll let you come with us back to Knothole and hear your full story."

"Thanks, Princess…" Dingo said with a smile. "We really…"

"But know this," Sally added interrupting with a fierce glare, "if we find out you're turncoats or even spies for Snively, I will have my team personally turn you three over to him to do whatever he wants with you without remorse. Do I make myself clear?"

"Relax, Sally…" Bean replied confidently to her. "You have nothing to worry about. We are 100% legit and on your side now for saving us."

I'll believe that when I see it, Sonic thought to himself angrily. I don't trust these clowns one bit!

Even now, the blue hedgehog couldn't help but wonder how they got Snively's disk in the first place.

I gotta bad feeling there's more to this story than they're actually telling us, Sonic thought again.


	3. Sonic Underground

Chapter 3: Sonic Underground

Back at Knothole, Sally and Sonic took the mysterious Mobians into her hut for a private meeting.

"Ok guys..." she said, addressing them while standing near her table and chair, "Here's the deal. You claim this disk has Snively's latest plans on it. To be honest, I'm very skeptical about all of this to say the least. So tell me… why we should believe you're legit?"

"Because it's the truth." Bark protested with a frown. "Just look at it for yourself before judging us."

I don't think you should, Sal." Sonic spoke up. "It'll probably give Nicole a mondo nasty virus."

The squirrel princess pondered this possibility over carefully, eventually replying, "Perhaps… Still, we should at least test their claims just to be fair. Who knows? Maybe this disk really is legit."

Sonic though just sighed and rolled his eyes in response. He didn't trust these guys as far as he could spin dash them.

Sally carefully put the disk into Nicole's main drive and said to the mysterious Mobians with a fierce glare on her face, "I'm going to have Nicole thoroughly inspect this disk. If she finds even one small virus on it, I'm giving Sonic the green light to haul you back to Robotropolis, where you'll have to fend for yourselves like before."

That threat immediately made several of them tremble in fear, but Bean replied boldly to her, "Trust me, you won't find a single thing wrong with the disk."

"For your sake, you'd better be right." Sonic said to them sharply.

"Nicole, scan disk for all known viruses."

"Scanning, Sally…"

Thirty seconds later, Nicole announced, "No viruses found."

Now Sonic really was suspicious inside. He swiftly thrusted a finger from his right hand at the Mobians and demanded, "Ok, what's your deal, sleazebags? This whole charade is getting ridiculous! There is no possible way you three buffoons stole Snurvely's secret data that easily!"

"Hey, what difference does it make how we got the disk?" Bark argued. "We're doing you guys a favor by bringing it to you so you can overthrow that small shrimp. You should be grateful."

"There's nothing to be grateful for because I know it's trap!" the blue hedgehog shot back, getting in his face. "You know it and I know it!"

"If we really were Snively's stooges," Bean argued as well, "that disk would have crippled the Princess' main computer within seconds. But as you can see, nothing happened to her."

"Unfortunately, he does have a point there." Sally added softly.

"Doh, man! I hate it when you say that."

"Just chill, Sonic, they're not out of the woods yet." The squirrel princess then turned back to the super computer and ordered, "Nicole, Display the first file."

"Displaying, Sally…"

Within seconds, it showed a diagram of a familiar area to the Sonic and Sonic, one that was a bad memory to the blue hedgehog.

"What? Are you serious?" Sonic demanded out loud. "Needlenose's first target is there?"

"I'm afraid so, Sonic." Sally replied. "According to this, Snively's planning to wipe out the Lower Mobius Freedom Fighters team."

"We can't go there, Sal. Don't you know who runs that place?"

"Yes, I do, Sonic. And I think its time you let go your petty jealousy of Griff."

"Petty jealousy? He stole our Power Stone, remember?"

"But you got it back, did you not, Sonic?"

The blue hedgehog reluctantly nodded his head in response, adding with a soft mutter, "Not to mention he tried to steal your heart from me."

"Sonic, would you grow up? Sally said, losing patience. "In case you haven't noticed, he never was interested in me to begin with. Secondly, the only reason I played along was to make you jealous."

"Yea, yea, I know."

"Besides, can you really blame me? I mean, it was very repulsive to hear you dreaming of chili dogs as the "most beautiful thing you ever saw."

"Well, excuse me, Sal. I didn't know it was criminal offense to dream about my favorite food."

While they continued to bicker back and forth, the three Mobians now watched on with a big grin on their faces.

"This is very entertaining." Bean stated with a chuckle. "I could listen to them argue all day."

"Yea," Dingo chimed in laughing. "Same here."

Sally then said after a few more back and forth lines of bickering to end their fight, "The point is, Sonic, I chose you in the end, did I not?"

"Well, yea." Sonic replied softly.

"So why can't you let bygones be bygones with Griff? I mean, he did say he was sorry for stealing our stone, did he not?"

Sonic couldn't argue with that at all. It was true his bitterness towards him was very petty. So he finally said with a heavy sigh, "Ok, fine, you win, Sal."

"Glad to hear it, Sonic hedgehog." She playfully retorted with a gloating look on her face.

"Anyway, how do we know for sure these plans are legit? Snively might be setting up an ambush for us once we show up."

"You do have a point there." Sally replied. "But, I happen to have a solution."

"Ok, tell me."

Sally slowly leaned in and softly whispered in the blue hedgehog's ear about her plan, just in case these Mobians were still phony. Sonic instantly grinned at her idea and said after she finished, "Ooh, I like that. Smart and pretty. No wonder you're the team's tactician."

"Flattery will get you nowhere, true blue." She retorted playfully again.

"Hey, what did you whisper to him anyway?" Bean demanded

"Sorry, guys," Sonic told them firmly. "But you're on probation for now. This information is for current Freedom Fighters only."

"Hey, c'mon, cut us some slack here." Bark reasoned

"If we succeed in this mission," Sally told them, "Then we'll talk about perhaps sharing our top secret plans with you."

"Fine, you've got a deal." The green bird said.

Meanwhile, back outside, the other Freedom Fighters began their daily tasks. Since there were a lot of scrap metal parts from their recent battle, Sally instructed the team to bring it back to help with the current plans of the deroboticizer.

Once most of it was brought into the hut, Rotor carefully looked over the parts while placing a hand over his chin and said to Bunnie, who was helping him bring rest of the scrap metal in his workshop, "You know, I might be able to make you a nifty little gadget from this stuff."

Like what, Sugar?"

"Well," He replied, pointing to a busted laser weapon. "I might be able repair this and outfit your metal arm with it to give you gun that the current Swatbots use."

Bunnie liked the sound of this idea a lot. "You really could do that for me?" she asked with deep intrigue.

"Perhaps… but I'm gonna need some time to develop it. There are a lot of unknowns."

"What do you mean, Rotor?"

"I mean, you might experience physical problems while using it since you won't be able to use a battery."

"You mean firing that little old doodad could hurt me?"

"Yes, maybe even worse than that. I'm not sure."

After hearing that, Bunnie was now starting to dislike the idea. "Uh, maybe its best we forget about it, Sugar." She said with hesitation in her voice.

"Relax." The purple walrus replied, trying to reassure her. "I'll run tests on it first to make sure it's safe. And besides, having that kind of weapon on our side could really do some major damage to Snively's forces."

"Uh, yea, sure… Anyway, if you don't need my help anymore, I'll catch ya later." she said, heading for the door.

Rotor slowly nodded his head in response and then waved goodbye, where he soon afterwards began to tinker with the Swatbot junk parts.

Once outside, Bunnie started looking for Manic. However, before she could find him, she ran into a certain French coyote, who had written another poem. This time though, it wasn't for Sally.

"Ah, just zee one I'm looking for." He said smiling, while walking up to the cyborg rabbit.

"Uh, ok. What's up?" Bunnie asked perplexed

"I've taken you up on your word, what else?" Antoine replied, showing her his written work. "And now I'd like to share this lovely poem with you."

Bunnie instantly began to heavily blush after hearing a few lines of it. This one was about flowers, comparing her to a lovely rose. She instantly stopped him halfway into it, asking while trying to keep her cheeks from showing full flushed red, "Ant, why are you doing this?"

"Because you asked me why I never wrote you a poem." He explained with a slight smile on his face. "I could tell you felt left out after you shared your feelings with me about it, so I wrote this just for you."

Bunnie now frowned at him, firmly telling the French coyote, "Well, thanks, but no thanks, Ant. While I appreciate you writing me a poem, as I told you awhile back, I don't have any romantic feelings for you."

"But why not?" Antoine asked puzzled. "I am Antoine, Freedom Fighter extraordinaire."

"Get real." The cyborg rabbit replied scoldingly. "Only Sugarhog is fit to use that title."

Instantly, Antoine boiled with indignation at her words, demanding, "Are you telling me you love zat crazy fuel too as well?"

"As a matter of fact, I do, Ant." She nodded in response. "But the reason I haven't pursued him yet is out of respect for Sally girl."

While Antoine tried to come up with a rebuttal, Manic and Sonia meanwhile came walking up to them with Manic asking before he could say one word, "Hey, guys. So, what's going on here?"

"Oh, Ant's just jealous of your brother again." the cyborg rabbit answered him with a smile.

Manic laughed and said to Antoine, "Well, if you want to be cool like Sonic, you might want to try a new wardrobe. That outfit on you is so outdated."

"How dare you!" the French coyote roared. "This outfit is zee official uniform of zee Royal Acorn soldiers!"

"Of what year?" Manic retorted "3100?"

Bunnie instantly giggled at his wisecrack comment. She then said to the green hedgehog while taking him by the arm soon afterwards, "So, ya'll mind if we talk a walk together?"

Manic at first was puzzled by her sudden advancement, but replied with a shrug nonetheless, "Uh, I guess not… But why?"

"I'd just like to get to know you better is all." She explained in a flirtatious tone. "That all right with you?"

Flattered by her genuine smile and sincere interest in him, he answered back with a smile of his own, "Sure, let's go."

As they walked away, Bunnie gave a quick wave to Antoine and Sonia, where she then quickly turned back to put her non robotic arm around Manic's shoulder.

Antoine not surprisingly was still in a fit of rage, muttering in disgust, "Zee females are such fickle species!"

"Hey, I resent that!" Sonia exclaimed, frowning at him. "It's not our fault you're a dork."

"I'll have you know I am very romantic!" Antoine retorted sharply in response. "In fact, I can be just as good as that sleaze you were with, if not more so."

In spite her emotional wounds being reopened by that cheap shot at her ex fiancé Bartleby, the female hedgehog glared at him intently nonetheless, replying sharply, "Prove it then, big shot."

"Fine, I will!"

Antoine read his poem out loud to Sonia, trying to speak as mushy as he could. He even said certain words with deep passion to try and make an impression. Unfortunately, the only thing it did was make her drop to the floor and burst out in deep laughter. Again, Antoine growled fiercely in response.

"What is so funny?" he demanded with his hands at his sides. "Zis poem is my most romantic one yet."

"It's not the poem, but the way you read it." Sonia explained, still laughing heartily. "Oh, man, you're a riot!"

Instantly, Antoine left her presence and stomped off, muttering to himself angrily, "I am beginning to wonder why I even bother with zem in zee first place."

A few hours later, Sally called the team to her hut for an important meeting. Not surprisingly, Bunnie was standing on Manic's right side and occasionally sneaking looks at him as it began.

"Ok, guys." Sally instructed. "According to new recently acquired disk, Snively plans to invade Griff's Freedom Fighters tomorrow at 3pm. We'll need to strategize and counter his assault immediately."

"What's the plan, Sally girl?"

"Well, since we don't still know for sure if these three newcomers are on our side or not, Bunnie, we're going to have two teams. One to take on the operation and another in hiding in case it's an ambush."

"What are you going to do if it turns out to be a trick?" Tails inquired.

"Simple. First of all, I'm going to instruct Griff to have a secret trap installed on the ceiling of his base. If these Mobians are indeed turncoats, I'll have them standing nearby it and then drop it on top of them, trapping them inside. Maybe if we're lucky, it'll also capture a few of Snively's robots as well for additional collateral."

"Sounds good." Rotor commented

"Anyway, in case it's not a trap," the squirrel princess continued, "I'm going to have Uncle Chuck build us a large magnetic weapon that will release a large magnetic wave upon detonation, making the Swatbots and any other machines within range fizzle out within seconds, thus rending Snively's assault on the Lower Mobius base to total oblivion."

"Wait, won't that attack affect me too?" Bunnie asked with deep concern.

"Not to worry." Sally reassured her. "I'll have Rotor coat your metal parts with a special liquid that will shield you from any of its effects."

"Well, that's a relief." The cyborg rabbit stated

"Sounds like a mondo cool plan you've got here, Sal." Sonic commented.

"Anyway, be ready to leave at 2pm tomorrow on the dot." The squirrel princess instructed. "Everyone got that?"

The team nodded their head, with the squirrel Princess quickly adding, "Ok then, meeting dismissed."

Once everyone started heading out the door, Tails then walked up to Sally and tapped her on the shoulder.

"What is it, honey?" she asked him, kneeling at his eye level.

"Aunt Sally, you mind if I help Rotor and Uncle Chuck build the weapons?"

Sally at first looked away for a sec and answered with deep hesitance, "I don't know if you're ready for that. This is a major responsibility."

"But I want to learn how." The young fox pleaded. "I know I can do it. Please?"

As she tried to think of a way to talk him out of it, Sonic, who was still in the room, said, "Give him a chance, Sal. Who knows? He might have a real flair with machines."

Sally however still hesitated to make up her mind. When Sonic clearly saw this in her body language, he soon added to try and convince her, "And besides, with that mondo bomb needing to be assembled right away, it sounds like Uncle Chuck and Rot could use all the help they can get."

After he put it that way, Sally heavily sighed in response, saying to Tails with deep reluctance, "Oh, all right…" She then looked him in the eye and said firmly, "Just promise me you'll do whatever Rotor and Sir Charles tells you to do, ok? This is a very delicate operation."

"I promise, Aunt Sally." The 2 tailed fox, answered, raising a hand in the air. "I won't let you down."

"Ok then." She said with a nod. "Go ahead."

Tails instantly ran out letting out a victorious yell. Sally though even now still had her doubts about this.

Sonic though put an arm around her and told the squirrel princess to calm her nerves, "I know, it's hard to let them go and grow up, but he's ready for this. I think we both know that."

"True." Sally said somberly. "Still, I can't help but worry about him at times. Besides, what if Cream gets the wrong idea and will want to follow suit? I mean, she is not exactly thinking straight now since she lost her adopted brother to roboticization."

"Aw, c'mon Sal, Cream's only 6 years old." He told her. "Besides, she's a small girl. What young girl wants to get involved in heavy guerrilla warfare anyway?"

Sonic unfortunately couldn't have been more wrong in this case. While Tails was helping Rotor and Uncle Chuck help build the magnet bomb, Cream came walking in and asked with deep curiosity, "What you guys doing?"

Instantly, Rotor and Sir Charles looked at her with a bit of panic. But before they could scold her, Tails answered, "We're building a weapon to help take out Snively's Swatbots."

Cream now looked on even more intrigued, inquiring further, "Really? Is this weapon going to be used on that pointed nose creep?"

"Um, yea, it is…" the purple walrus answered with hesitation. "Why do you ask?"

To their surprise, she promptly responded while looking at them intently with a frown on her face. "Good. Let me help you then."

"WHAT?" All three of them looked at the young rabbit in complete shock.

Charles then told her with a chuckle, trying to be nice, "Sorry, young lady, but this work is far too dangerous for someone as young as you to get involved with.

"Aw, c'mon," she protested strongly, "Tails gets to help, and he's only 10."

"I know, but he's officially a Freedom Fighter now." Rotor explained. "When you become one, you can help us with important projects like this too."

Cream though wasn't ready to give up trying, saying with a slight pout, "No, I want to help you now. Please let me do this."

Now starting to lose patience with her, Sir Charles told the young female rabbit as politely as he could, "Sweetie, I appreciate you wanting to give us a hand, but I cannot allow you to do that. I don't want you to get hurt or worse. We're working with very complex metal parts that require professional experience. If this device we build isn't constructed properly, it could blow up in our faces."

But again, Cream wouldn't renege, replying sharply, "Fine, then let me hand you parts, or even let me watch on how it's built. Just allow to do me that as much at least."

"Why are you all of a sudden obsessed with explosives, young one?" Sir Charles demanded, now frowning at her. "You're only six years old. Shouldn't you be outside playing and enjoying life here at Knothole?"

Without warning, her eyes quickly welled up at his words, soon answering angrily with a sob in-between words, "Oh sure… I'll just go outside, frolic in the flowers, play hopscotch and forget all about Big. Yea, it's not like I need my roboticized brother anymore to have fun."

When the three of them heard that, the room went dead silent, as they looked at her speechless. Even some of them had their jaws dropped too.

"Do you have any idea how hurtful for you to suggest such a thing to me?" Cream demanded in a gravely voice, trying to keep from breaking down in front of them. "Because of you guys' carelessness, he's now a robot slave of that evil man you're fighting against."

Again, none of them had anything to say in response, as they knew she had a point.

"How can you even call yourselves Freedom Fighters?" the young female rabbit scolded in the same tone of voice as before. "You didn't fight for my brother's freedom! You just let him get roboticized without even a second thought!"

"Now you hold it right there, missy." Sir Charles shot back with a look of disgust. "I know you're upset and all, but your attitude is downright insulting to all of us, let alone completely disrespectful."

Cream though ignored his reprimanding words, saying again in tears, "You guys don't want my help? Fine! I'm sorry I even bothered asking! Goodbye!"

And with that statement, the young female rabbit attempted to storm off out of the hut.

Tails though walked over to her before she could leave, saying, "Cream, wait a second…"

"Just leave me alone!" she shot back at him with a sniffle. "It's not like you have any idea of what I'm going through."

The two tailed fox then grabbed her right shoulder with his hand, replying softly, "That's just it… I do understand."

Cream during this time tried to wrench away from his grasp, but soon settled down after he said that, asking with watershed eyes while looking him in the eye, "How can you possibly understand? You didn't lose someone close to you to that awful machine."

"No, I didn't…" he replied, looking at the ground. "But as far as I know, I lost my parents to that device."

Cream now looked at him peculiarly, as the roboticized hedgehog chimed in, saying somberly to her, "I lost several loved ones to that machine too, young one, including my wife and sister in law."

Even Rotor added his two cents, telling the young rabbit, "I lost my entire family to it as well."

"R-really?" By this point, Cream felt very guilty inside for yelling at them. She then said with a frown, trying to justify her behavior, "Well, it's not like you had it happen to you when you were my age, scarring you for life."

Rotor though spoke up, telling her sharply, "Oh yes, I did, Cream! I lost them when I was only five years old. And on top of that, I had to flee for refuge here so I wouldn't have had to suffer the same fate."

After hearing that, the young rabbit could barely make eye contact with him, asking, "That… really happened to you?"

"Yes, it did…" the purple walrus reiterated with a nod. "And believe me, I took it very hard, knowing my entire family was gone and maybe never seeing them ever again. In fact, I still struggle with my emotions at times when thinking about it because it hurts so much."

Within seconds, Cream could not hold back her tears anymore, as she instantly turned her head away from them in shame and sobbed openly.

Tails then walked in front of her and hugged her tightly in deep compassion, saying with a soothing hush, "its ok, Cream. We understand… more than you know."

"I'm so sorry for being bratty to you all." She told them with a lump in her throat. "I just... I can't handle this. Everyday, when I wake up and again get the awful reminder Big is no longer with me; I just break down and cry. I miss him so much now."

Tails again comforted her fragile emotional state, saying with a gently pat on her back, "I know… but, please don't lose hope, Cream. It's not too late to save your brother and reverse the process."

"W-what do you mean?" she asked with a sniffle.

"Aunt Sally is in the process of building a deroboticizer within Knothole." The two tailed fox explained. "Once it's completed and its tests are proven successful, we can go rescue your brother and then restore him to normal."

Cream's facial expressions now brightened up at the thought of that, asking with intrigue, "Well, how long will it be until it's finished?"

"Ummm…" Tails sadly had put him into a corner, as he had no idea himself. Nevertheless, he answered her with a straight face, "Well, it'll probably be done within three to four months tops."

"THREE TO FOUR MONTHS! I can't wait that long!" the young female rabbit exclaimed, now starting to sob again. "I want him back now."

"I understand your impatience on this, but I'm afraid that's the best we can do." He told her softly. "I'm really sorry."

Not surprisingly, Cream soon broke down, and began to sob openly once more. Tails though told her after a brief pause, "Please don't cry. We can at least get his mind back if nothing else with a Power Ring."

However by this time, the young female rabbit's emotional state was so broken; she had given up all hope entirely. Tails then added, now looking her firmly in the eye, "Cream, listen… we'll do all we can to bring your brother back here as soon as possible so you two can catch up from the days you've lost, but I'm going to have to ask you to be patient and trust us to do our jobs."

Cream soon sniffled again at his words, as Tails asked of her, "Do you believe me?"

Moments later, she answered him, trying to keep her emotions in check, "I… guess so." She now looked the two tailed fox in the eye, asking him further, "But, how do I know for sure you're not just saying this to make me feel better?"

Tails carefully put each hand on her shoulder in response, telling the young rabbit firmly, "I swear to you, Cream, I meant every word I said. I wouldn't dare lie to you about something as important as this."

Cream now looked at him with a glimmer of hope in her eye, as the two tailed fox added with firm confidence, "I can tell you really love him, so rest assured… as your friend, you and Big will be reunited before you know it. You hear me, Cream?"

After hearing that, the young female rabbit was now completely overwhelmed by his thoughtfulness, as she hugged him tightly in gratitude, saying with another sob, "Thank you, Tails. I… do trust you. I know you won't let me down."

Deep down, the two tailed fox felt happy for being able to cheer her up, but ironically could not help at that moment but wonder if he had made a promise that he could not keep. Nevertheless, he told after she let go, "Anyway, Cream, for now, try to keep an optimistic attitude around here for the time being. I know that won't be easy at all, especially since you're still coping with his absence. But, at least try and think about the happy times you had with him. Surely thinking about them would put a bit of a smile on your face, right?"

Cream was again in deep thought, with Tails quickly adding to drive his point home, "Besides, if Big brought you that much joy in life, do you think he'd want you to become all bitter and angry inside, even obsessing to the point of wanting to get revenge because you lost him for now?"

Within seconds, the young female rabbit sighed heavily in response, answering with a look of guilt, "No… he wouldn't."

"That's exactly my point." Tails reiterated. "Freedom Fighting is very serious work. You don't become one to get revenge on the injustice that's been done to you. Having that kind of mentality will easily get yourself roboticized or even worse. And I know Big wouldn't want to see that happen to you after all he did to sacrifice himself so you would be able to escape and find another place of refuge."

Cream knew deep down he was right, but still felt that same strong urge within her of wanting to help them build their weapon. Nevertheless, she said after a long pause with a sigh, "I guess I'll let you do your work now. I'm sorry I interrupted."

Sir Charles however replied to the young female rabbit with a warm smile on his face, telling her "Don't be sorry, young one. I can tell you really needed someone to talk to about this, so I'm glad Tails was here to help you feel better." He then added with a witty expression, "But, I think it would be a good idea the next time you need a listening ear, have it be your mother. After all, I'm sure she would want to know how you're really feeling now, am I right?"

Cream quickly lowered her head in response, replying softly, "Yea, I know… anyway, see you all later."

And with that statement, she turned away and slowly walked out of the hut.

"Poor kid…" Sir Charles commented with a sigh of sympathy. "I had no idea she was taking this so hard. I guess this shows I know very little about children."

The two tailed fox subtly nodded his head as helped Rotor fasten some screws to a metal plate. Sir Charles then spoke up and said to Tails with a frown, "You know, you really shouldn't have promised her that you would guarantee Big being brought back here safely and restored. For all we know, he might never be rescued. He could even be destroyed in one of Robotnik's factories."

Tails knew he had a point there, answering in his defense, "I just couldn't bear to see her so upset. Losing her adopted big brother in a sense has really traumatized her now. I had to do something to brighten her spirits."

"While that maybe true, you only compounded the problem when you swore to save him for her sake." The roboticized hedgehog reiterated. "What are you going to tell her should we fail and Cream never gets to be reunited with him again? You don't think that would destroy her emotionally?"

Again, Sir Charles had hit the nail on the head, as Tails now had nothing to say in his defense.

"You had better hope we do rescue him, Tails." Sir Charles told him. "If we don't, she will forever hate you for getting her hopes up for nothing."

"You just let me worry about that." The two tailed fox replied angrily. "There's no point in playing the what if game. For now, Big can still be rescued, and I intend to honor my word to Cream until the very end."

Seeing he was very serious about this vow, the roboticized hedgehog said to him after a long pause, "Ok then. If you say so, Tails."

Back at Robotropolis, Snively was reviewing tape of the last two fights between him and the Freedom Fighters. Needless to say, he was very angry with his army's progress.

"I'm going to have to make some major upgrades to this place if I'm gonna stay in business as dictator of Mobius." He stated. "After losing that disk, my plans are now exposed. They now know who I'm going to attack and when."

Moments later, he added, "I'm not only going to have to upgrade Robotropolis' defenses, but my robotic soldiers too. But, where exactly do I go to make my army an even more formidable opponent?"

Just then, he paused the footage on the video screen, as an evil grin quickly came over his face.

"Of course, how could I have been so stupid? I'll capture a superior species and make them part of my new fleet of warriors. I'll even roboticize one of the Freedom Fighters to make their comrades submit to my dominion." He then added with a sly grin, "And I think I know just the one to use to enforce this."

The picture on the video screen Snively was looking at was none other than one of the Freedom Fighters' most underrated soldiers, none other than a familiar green dragon.

The following day at Knothole, Sally rounded up the team as 2pm approached.

"Ok, team," she instructed, "Its show time."

"Nice choice of words." Sonic teased.

Sally groaned in response and then said to the rest of her friends, "Does everyone remember their positions?"

"Relax, Sal. This'll be a cake walk." the blue hedgehog boasted. "Me and my sibs will draw the attention of the Swatbutts, while the rest of you hide in case it's a trap. Trust me, it's in the bag."

Sally again groaned. This was something that she just couldn't stop Sonic from doing. "I hope you're right." She said to him firmly. "No telling what will run into."

"Did you contact Griff about installing those traps on the ceiling?"

"Already taken care of, Sonic." Sally replied with a thumb's up. "The backup plan is ready to go."

"Then what are we waiting for?" he asked, now tapping his foot at her.

However, before she could give the order to move out, Bean walked up and said, "Allow us to lead the way."

"I don't think so." Sonic responded sharply. "You'll probably lead us right into an ambush."

"Would you stop accusing us of treachery already?" Bark demanded with a frown. "We're on your side now, remember?"

Sonic was about to argue with them some more when Sally nudged him with her left elbow, giving him a sly wink soon afterwards. He quickly got the picture, telling the three Mobians, "Very well… we'll let you lead us just this once."

"Thank you." The tan bear replied with a slight frown.

After a long pause, the blue hedgehog said to his comrades, "Ok, guys, let's make tracks!"

An hour later, they finally arrived at Griff's underground base with a few minutes to spare before 3pm. He of course was expecting them since Sally sent a metal pigeon to warn them of Snively's plot.

"Good timing." Griff said, extending out his hand to greet them.

Sonic of course didn't extend his in return, that is until Sally elbowed him again. Reluctantly, he shook his hand.

"You're not still mad about the Power Stone, are you?" Griff asked

"A little… But, for Sal's sake, I'll play nice." Sonic answered sharply

The goat then noticed Manic and Sonia among those he recognized, asking with puzzlement, "And who are they?"

"They're my siblings, cool Freedom Fighters like me."

'Oh, I didn't know you had a brother and a sister."

"Neither did I, Griff, until about two weeks ago."

"Sonic, there's no time to chit chat." Sally said firmly. "We need to get ready for Snively's attack on the double."

"Yea, yea, I know." Sonic replied.

The two Freedom Fighters then slowly put their hands on top of each other's and said in unison, "Let's do it to it."

Within seconds, everyone ran to their assigned spots. Even Griff's team followed suit and hid with the others. The only ones who stayed with Sonic and his siblings were the three mysterious Mobians, as this was part of Sally's strategy.

"Are you sure old needle nose will attack at 3pm?" Sonic asked Bean.

"Trust me." The green bird replied with confidence. "Snively will show up at three on the dot."

Sonic though wasn't too sure about this. Since Snively knew they had his plans, He wasn't willing to bet that he hadn't changed his plans to compensate.

Ironically, to his great surprise, Snively blasted through the wall at exactly 3pm, with a dozen Swatbots and several electric rats at his disposal.

"I don't believe this…" the blue hedgehog stated in disbelief. "He still followed through with his plans?"

"Well, well, look who's here." Snively said, piloting a Mega Muck unit. "And to think I actually thought you wouldn't show up."

"That's what I was gonna say to you, Snobley." Sonic retorted sharply. "How come you didn't change your plans?"

"Well, since you seemed so distrust worthy of my disk, I thought you might sit this one out. Guess not. Oh well, now its time to say goodbye to this pathetic little shelter!"

"Not gonna happen on our watch, needlenose." Sonia proclaimed to him boldly.

Snively then ordered his army while pointing at his foes, "GET THEM!"

Within moments, both sides quickly lunged at each other as the fight got under way.

When Snively saw the three Mobians helping Sonic's team, he said to them, "I'll make you you'll regret the day you dared to steal that data disk from me!"

"Don't count on it!" Bean shouted, tossing one of his bombs at Snively's mega muck unit.

However, the small tyrant quickly took care of it, as he shot mega muck to bring the bomb to a gooey halt.

Meanwhile, Sonic was busy dealing with the robotic rats with their electrified tails. When three of them surrounded the blue hedgehog, he taunted them extensively, saying boldly, "Ok, circuit heads, show me what you're made of."

Instantly, they flung their tails at Sonic in rapid succession to try and shock him. But like the last time they fought, the blue hedgehog outwitted them with ease, jumping out the way a split second before any of their attacks could get close to him. Instead, their tails eventually collided with each others, causing them to overload each of their internal circuits. Within seconds, they violently exploded into pieces, scattering metal debris everywhere.

"So much for them…" Sonic gloated with a big smirk on his face

Sonia on the other hand was manhandling several Swatbots.

"C'mon, take your best shot, bots." she dared them.

Within seconds, five of them fired multiple lasers at her, only to miss, as she cart wheeled past their attacks with ease. She then karate kicked two of them to the ground with her feet, hitting the bots directly in the chest. Moments later, three more Swatbots surrounded her from different angles, where they promptly aimed their laser gun at her.

Like her brother Sonic however, she too outsmarted Snively's robotic solders, as the female hedgehog then jumped high into the air upon them firing at her. As with the metal rats, the Swatbots' weapons instead hit each other, knocking them to the ground in a daze.

"Easy as cake…" Sonia said, dusting her hands.

As for Manic, he soon got out his hover board and quickly flew overhead, where he then dropped multiple pipe bombs on several of Snively's forces from above, destroying them one after the other within seconds.

Sally meanwhile watched on in amazement. "I don't believe this… Sonic and his siblings are wiping out his army all by themselves with ease. What is going on here? Something is starting to smell here…"

"You think we should help them, Sally girl?"

"Not yet, Bunnie… We can't compromise our position just yet."

While this was going on, Bean and the other Mobians tried to take out Snively's mega muck unit, but had no success. Any weapon they tried to attack it with was instantly halted by the mega muck.

Finally, Snively put them on ice, as he nailed the three of them with mega muck.

By this time, Sonic and his siblings had finally finished off all of Snively's robotic soldiers. Once they turned around to saw the other three in trouble, they promptly ran to their aid.

However, Snively was one step ahead of them, as he then fired mega muck at the three hedgehogs in rapid succession.

At first they were able to evade the attacks, that is until he put the machine on rapid fire and started shooting from multiple angles at random. After that, not even Sonic with his super speed could evade the constant barrage of the stick goop for much longer. Within thirty seconds, all three hedgehogs were sadly trapped and unable to get free.

Sally then gasped in horror. "C'mon, guys," she said to them softly. "We've gotta help them!"

Running as fast as they could, Sally and Griff's team went to assist them. Unfortunately the second they came out of hiding, Snively abruptly turned the gun on them as well, where they too soon were hit and stuck in place.

Instantly, the small tyrant laughed heartily at their predicament, inquiring with a boast, "Did you really think I was gonna let you come in here and walk all over me again? HA! You're all fools!"

Sally during this time struggled mightily to try and get free of the sticky substance around her legs and feet, but could not. Instead, she demanded of the small dictator after giving that notion up, "How did you know we were hiding back there?"

Snively quickly scoffed at her words, replying with a witty retort, "Oh please, you've forgotten already?

Within seconds, one of his new inventions, none other than stealth spy orb, soon turned visible near his Mega Muck Unit. At that moment, Sally and Griff's team quickly gasped in disbelief at the sight of it, as Snively added to rub it in, "I brought a half dozen of these little toys with me when I invaded this place, Princess. I knew there was a chance you might try an ambush, so I came prepared. Too bad you didn't do likewise."

Sally was now kicking herself emotionally, as she realized she hadn't prepared for that possibility.

"But enough talk…" the small dictator said after a brief pause. "It's time for me to enlist some new recruits to my arsenal of robotic soldiers."

And with that's statement, two Swatbots from inside the mega muck unit came out carrying a portable roboticizer.

Snively this time decided to roboticize Princess Sally first instead of Sonic. The blue hedgehog during this time could only watch helplessly as he saw them strip her of her backpack and then place her into the ghastly machine.

It seemed Snively had finally beaten them.

However out of nowhere, Bean quickly pulled a small bottle out of his pocket and tossed it to Bark. The tan bear then poured it on his legs and feet, dissolving the muck around him. Once he was free, Bark carefully yanked Bean out of his mega muck, where the two of them promptly got to work.

Within seconds, they ambushed the two Swatbots, as Bean used his last bomb in his possession to blast one to bits while Bark used his right shoulder to slam the other to the ground flat on its back.

Snively now saw what was going on, and quickly reacted, firing multiple rounds of mega muck at the green bird to trap him again. Unfortunately to his great horror, Bean and Bark were one step ahead of him.

Working as a team, Bean quickly opened the door for Sally to escape, as Bark then picked up the roboticizer with both hands, using it as a shield.

Snively immediately gasped in disbelief, as he saw the mega muck had now enveloped nearly every inch of his portable roboticizer.

Before the small tyrant could regain his composure, Bean grabbed another bottle from his pocket and then quickly its contents onto Sonic and Bunnie's legs and feet. He then told them after they were freed of it, "Keep him busy. I'll help the Princess."

And with that statement, the green bird picked up Sally's backpack that was on the floor and took off in her direction.

Sonic meanwhile was completely shocked by the fact Bean again had bailed them out of a serious jam, but did as he was told since there was no time to lose.

While they kept him busy, Bean ran over to Sally, where she soon asked of him after handing the squirrel princess her backpack, "What is that stuff you used anyway?"

"Eh, some special formula that dissolves Snively's sticky goop." The green bird explained hesitantly. "That's all I know."

Sally then said sheepishly to him after a long pause, "Um, thanks for saving me. I guess I owe you one."

"Never mind that." Bean told her firmly. "We gotta stop Snively at once before he takes over this place! You got any ideas?"

Sally quickly snapped her fingers, replying in a bit of rebuke to herself, "Of course, the Mega Magnet bomb within my backpack. How could I have forgotten about it already?"

She then pulled out the large explosive from her backpack and prepared to walk over and hand it Sonic so he could toss it at Snively's Mega Muck Unit.

Bean though took it from her instead and said while preparing to take off, "Allow me to do the honors, Princess."

"Are you sure you ought to do that?" she asked with concern. "If that bomb isn't properly utilized, it won't do a thing to stop Snively's vehicle."

"Trust me." He told her with the utmost confidence, now running off towards Snively's Mega Muck Unit. "I know what I'm doing."

Sally though couldn't help but wonder if she had made a big mistake by allowing him to take from her hands.

Meanwhile, Sonic and Bunnie were sadly only able to keep Snively at bay for a brief period, as he again halted each Freedom Fighter in their tracks after utilizing the auto fire feature on his mega muck cannon a second time to his advantage.

"Now to get the others!" Snively growled fiercely. "Especially that dirty green bird!"

"Looking for me, Shorty?" Bean demanded, running towards him while tucking the bomb underneath his right arm. "Well, here I am! Come and get me!"

"I'll make you regret playing hero against me, birdbrain!" he retorted back at him.

Snively aggressively fired multiple rounds of mega muck at his opponent in rapid succession, but Bean somehow managed to evade each attack that came near him, quickly moving from left to right. Once he was within ten feet of his Unit, the green bird then lept high into the air, preparing to execute the next phase of the plan.

The small dictator however promptly reacted to this move, as he pointed the cannon directly at the green bird while he was in midair and fired. Within seconds, he was hit, blanketed in mega muck from the waist down. However, before he hit the ground, he heaved the Mega Magnet bomb at Snively's craft with both hands with all his might.

Snively tried hard to hit the bomb with his mega muck to render it useless, but it was now out of its range. Instead, the large bomb soon landed on top of his vehicle, eventually coming to a rest directly above his cockpit.

"NOW!" Bean shouted to the squirrel princess a split second later.

Sally instantly pressed the button from her remote control, making the bomb explode, releasing magnetic waves to flow all over the ground. Within seconds, his Mega Muck Unit went berserk, as sparks began to form all around his machine.

"Oh no!" He shouted, placing his hands on top of his head in a deep panic. "I've got to get out of here!"

However, to his surprise, the hovercraft did not blow up. Instead, the sparks signified his machine's electronics were now fried and out of commission. The split second he figured out his machine wasn't going to self destruct, the small dictator then tried to start up his Unit and escape.

Sadly for him, it was completely futile. No matter how many times he tried to hit the ignition button in his cockpit, it would not activate. Even when he tried to utilize the backup generator built within, it too would not start, as it also was fried.

Moments later, Sally walked boldly into the craft and abruptly grabbed him by the back collar of his shirt from the right side, where she then dragged him out of his Mega Muck Unit.

"Put me down, you fleabag!" he demanded, trying to get free of her grasp. "You can't do this to me!"

"Game over, you creep." She proclaimed to him after they were outside of it, now glaring at him in the eye. "You're through."

"I said put me down!" Snively shouted again at her.

"Oh sure I will, just as soon as you free my friends of the mega muck!"

"And what makes you think I can even do that, Princess?" he demanded.

"Well, since we now know you made a dissolvent for the mega muck, I'm betting you have some on you." Sally replied.

"Whether I do or not is none of your business!" the small dictator shot back. "It's not like I give it to you anyway."

Sally took that statement as a sign of confession that he did indeed have some on him. She then ordered Snively, "All right, hand over the bottle you have in your possession right now."

Snively though laughed at her demand, telling the squirrel Princess with a sneer, "You really are nuts if you think I'm going to do that something like that."

Sally however kept her resolve, as the small dictator added, "Besides, what would possibly compel me to comply with your order anyway?"

"Oh, I don't know… MAYBE ONE OF THESE!"

Without warning, Sally methodically pulled out a pipe bomb from her backpack and strongly pressed it against the right side of Snively's nose, making him yelp in fear at the sight of it. She then told him with clinched teeth and a fierce glare, "If you don't want your face blown to bits, I suggest you hand over that bottle right this second. Otherwise, I'll activate the detonator on this little device right now. Capiche?"

Snively quickly got the message and immediately complied, as he begrudgingly handed her a bottle of Mega Muck dissolvent from his pocket.

After placing it in her pocket, Sally dropped him abruptly onto the ground with an abrupt thud, where she then said to him, "Now, what to do with you…"

Sonic, who was standing from a short distance off, shouted at her in a cheer, "Take him out, Sal! Execute justice right here and now!"

Even Bunnie chimed in as well, adding, "Blast that nasty creep to bits, Sally girl! Let's end this stupid war once and for all!

"Hmmm… not a bad idea." She replied softly, rubbing her chin with a smirk on her face.

"Oh sure, take me out when I'm at your mercy…" Snively muttered at her angrily before she could take a step towards him. "Why not follow the same tactics as my despicable Uncle Julian? I mean, after all, it's not like you Mobians are any different from him!"

That statement ironically struck a nerve with her, as she demanded of him with a fierce glare, "Are you actually bold enough to say our standards are no better than his?"

"Don't play dumb with me, rodent!" he retorted. "You furballs are just as ruthless as he was. The only difference is, you're on the other side of this struggle for power!"

"What are you waiting for, Sal?" Sonic demanded. "Execute him already!"

Ironically, Sally couldn't make herself do it, as Snively's words were starting to bother her conscience, especially when he added soon afterwards, "Listen to those words of your so called boyfriend, Princess… He wants me executed without even a fair trial. And he's supposed to be the righteous hero of this world? Ha! He's no better than a vigilante on a power trip!"

"Don't listen to his disgusting words, Sally girl!" Bunnie told her. "Just do what you know what the right thing and restore the balance. We have fought for too long and too hard to stop now!"

Again, however, the squirrel Princess hesitated, as she answered him after a long pause, "What difference would a trial make anyhow? It's not like you would have any defense to your crimes."

"It would at least show me you so called Freedom Fighters have something we call integrity." The small dictator replied. "After all, if you rodents are really different from my Uncle, prove it to me then!"

Sally though didn't want to bother with a trial, as she felt it would be a big waste of everyone's time. Moments later, she finally made up her mind, saying to her enemy with frown, "All right, Snively… since you expect us to show some integrity, I will. I'm going to let you go this time."

"SAY WHAT?" Every one of the Freedom Fighters said this in unison while in utter shock.

"Sal, have you lost your mind?" the blue hedgehog demanded. "You can't let this cretin go! He must be taken out now!"

"Sonic, please, let me handle this." She replied, glaring at him.

Sonic did indeed, but crossed his arms with a big frown. Snively then asked of her with arched eyebrows, "Oh, so you're really going to show me some mercy on me, eh? Just like that?"

"Yes, but there is a catch." She replied.

"And that is…?"

Sally immediately pointed a finger in his face, telling him, "I'm giving you 48 hours to surrender. You will return to Robotropolis, disband your vile operation and then leave this part Mobius for good, never to return. If you dare ignore my warning here and attempt to oppose us again, you will die by my hand the next time you're cornered. From this moment on, I will no longer show you any mercy or spare you in any way."

Snively now looked at her peculiarly, as he inquired, "You really think you can tell me what to do just like that?"

"Yes, I do." The squirrel princess retorted. "Because if you don't agree with my terms, you'll face your punishment right here and now." She then added with her hands at her waist after he let out a small yelp, "I can gladly arrange that instead if you like."

Not wanting to push his luck, the small dictator answered after standing up, "Very well then… I'll… think it over and give you my answer within that time span."

"I thought you might." She said. "Now get out here before I change my mind!"

Snively promptly did as he was told, as he soon walked away from the Freedom Fighters. However, after taking ten steps, he looked back at her and said, "You know, you may regret letting me go this easily, Princess. You really have no guarantee I'll surrender to you at all."

"With your life now at stake and the countless battles you have lost to us freshly engraved in your mind… I'm almost certain you will give the notion a lot of thought." Sally shot back. "I suggest you use the time to reassess your priorities carefully before daring to come up with another convoluted scheme, because your next battle against us will most certainly be your last."

Snively was tempted to fire back again at her again, but instead walked away slowly.

After he left, Sally freed Sonic and her comrades from the mega muck with the dissolvent.

Sonic then said to her sharply, "What on Mobius were you thinking, Sal? Letting him go was the dumbest thing you've ever done!"

"Trust me, Sonic." She replied. "I know what I'm doing."

"Sally girl, I don't want to sound harsh here, but I have to agree with Sugarhog." Bunnie chimed in. "That was really poor leadership on your part. I'm almost certain he will make you regret your act of mercy."

"I only did it to show Snively how weak he is." Sally explained. "It was a tactical move to get inside his head and make him doubt his ability to rule Mobius. I assure you he will live to regret it if he dares to rebel against my orders."

Sonic though wasn't too sure about Sally's game plan, but decided to let it go for now and focus on the next matter at hand. He then turned to Bean and said, "Guess I should thank you for saving us."

"Anytime, hedgehog." The green bird replied humbly

"But I want to know one thing. Where did you get that mega muck dissolvent?" Sonic demanded with a frown.

"Oh… I, uh, stole some from Snively's lab before I was captured." Bean explained sheepishly.

"Sonic, what are you getting at exactly?" Sally asked puzzled

"Doesn't it seem suspicious to you that this bird just happened to have this with him that stuff at the exact same time Snively brings in a Mega Muck Unit to fight us?"

Sally did have to admit, it was very suspicious indeed. It even made the others think something was up as well.

Bean though said to try and clear up the confusion, "Hey, I didn't know Snively was planning to bring one of those machines along. I just swiped the stuff and was planning to sell it."

"Why didn't you share this information with us earlier?" Sonic interrogated. "Don't you realize we could have used that stuff back at Knothole and mass produced it?"

"Uh, well, I guess it slipped my mind then." Bean answered nervously. "Sorry bout that."

"I bet you're secretly working for Needlenose." The blue hedgehog stated angrily in full accusation.

"Hey! I told you, Sonic." The green bird protested. "I never even met the guy before he chased us!"

"I don't believe you." Sonic said, frowning. He then turned to Sally and said, "I say we lock these guys up for the next 48 hours."

Instantly, the three Mobians protested angrily at this notion.

"Why don't you just admit it already, blue boy?" Dingo demanded. "Nothing we do will ever make you trust us!"

"And why should I? You're spies of Snively's army!"

"We are not!" They yelled

"You are too!" Sonic yelled back

After this argument went back and forth for a bit, Sally finally intervened and yelled out patience, "ENOUGH!"

Sonic and the three Mobians though still glared at each other, growling intensely

"This is getting us nowhere." Sally commented.

"I agree, so let's tie them up!" Sonic suggested, looking at with a sly grin while rubbing his hands together.

"I'd like to see you try it, hedgehog!" Bark challenged

"Would you guys please give it a rest?" Sally said, groaning heavily. "Sonic, I think they do have a point. After all, they did help us defeat Snively again."

"So what if they did? Snively probably let them to gain our trust." Sonic argued

"But can you prove that for sure?" Sally inquired.

Sonic then tried to come up with an explanation to prove his theory correctly, but could not. Instead, he sighed heavily and muttered in response, "No, I can't."

"Then stop looking for excuses to incarcerate them."

Sonic looked at Sally with a frown and replied in defeat, "Ok, fine. I'll let it go, this time anyway."

"Glad to see you're becoming more mature." Sally commented

She then turned to three Mobians and said to them with a frown of her own, "But Sonic's makes a strong point. The fact you hid something valuable from us is very suspicious behavior indeed."

"Sorry, Princess." Bean said sheepishly. "It won't happen again."

"It had better not." She told them firmly. "For your sake."


	4. Showdown in the Desert Part 1

Back in Sally's hut, she, along with Sonic had another meeting with the three Mobians.

"So, what's the deal, Princess?" Bean inquired. "Are we earning your trust now, or what?"

"Not quite." Sally replied firmly. "First of all, while you have our thanks for saving our lives, we don't appreciate you hiding things from us."

"Hey, we already apologized for that." Bark reasoned. "Shouldn't you forgive us and move on?"

"Yes," Sally reiterated. "However, my position on this issue remains the same. If you're going to be one of us, any vital information, item or weapon you obtained from Snively's fortress must be shared with the whole team. No exceptions. Do I make myself clear?"

The three of them nodded their heads in agreement.

"So what now?" Sonic asked after a brief pause.

'Well, let's take another look on the disk we got from Snively." Sally replied. "Maybe there's some more useful data on it we can use to our advantage."

Sally then put the disk into Nicole and found the 2nd file.

"Nicole, display diagrams on wall."

"Displaying, Sally."

Seconds later, the two of them saw a picture of the desert.

"What gives, Nicole?" Sonic demanded with a frown. "This isn't much help; it just shows a bunch of sand.

"Hold it, Sonic." Sally told him. "Doesn't this scene look familiar to you?"

Sonic took a closer look at the diagram and pondered it thoroughly.

"Now that mention it, Sal, it does bring back some vague memory, but I can't put my finger on it."

"Sonic, think for a minute. When was the last time we had an encounter in a place like this?"

"Well, there was the time we crossed the desert in the Great Unknown to help Lupe."

"Think farther back.' Sally said

A few seconds later, Sonic then snapped his fingers." Of course, the time Robotnik used Ari to trap me in a mondo ugly pinball game."

"Now you're catching on." Sally teased.

"Very funny…" Sonic muttered. "Any extra data on the file?"

Sally examined the file further and found another date and time of attack, two days from then at 4pm.

"Guess this means we'll be tangling with Snurvley sooner than expected." Sonic commented.

"Maybe, maybe not…" Sally answered firmly. "It all depends on how Snively responds to my demands."

The blue hedgehog then gave her a hard and stony look, telling her bluntly, "Sal, you made a mondo mistake letting him go. You shouldn't have done such a foolish thing."

"I know what I'm doing here." Sally replied, giving him the same look in response. "I don't need you to question my judgment here."

Sonic though wouldn't let it go, asking her further, "Why did you do it? Why would you prolong the war because of some petty complaints by Needlenose? Did you not think at all about us before making this stupid decision?"

"I just couldn't make myself do it, ok?" the squirrel princess blurted out at him, raising her voice and starting to lose her cool. "His comment, saying our tactics were no different than his Uncle's… it really got to me."

"Who cares what Snurvely thinks?!" Sonic shot back, crossing his arms together. "As leader of the Knothole Freedom Fighters, your first priority should have been to us and our best interest, not his petty desires."

"Don't you dare accuse me of not caring about any of you!" Sally shouted, pointing a finger at him from her right hand, now fully disgusted at his words. "You have no idea how much of a burden I have being leader of this team! I'd like to see you do the work I have to go through to prepare for a mission. It's not fun and games in the least."

"The point I was trying to make here is, Sal," Sonic reiterated, "You let your emotions get the best of you there and it could cost us dearly in the long run."

Sally was again tempted to yell at him, but thought better of it, as she realized shouting would only prove his point about her emotions. Instead, she said, now composing herself, "Sonic, you let me worry about that. I know how to handle this."

"And just what are you going to do if Snively actually pretends to surrender, but double crosses you when you least expect it?" the blue hedgehog inquired with arched eyebrows.

"Like I said…" Sally reiterated in the same tone of voice as before. "I know how to handle this."

"Ok, so tell me then." Sonic interrogated. "What plan do you have mind if such a thing happens?"

At first, the squirrel princess thought of telling him plainly, but decided to keep it private as a precaution, whispering in the blue hedgehog's ear. As she did so, his expression quickly changed from intrigue to a sly grin.

This expression even got the attention of the three Mobians in the room, making them look on deeply curious themselves.

After Sally finished and withdrew from his ear, Sonic commented with a smirk to her, "Sal, I gotta hand it to you… that plan sounds mondo dynamite. I like it alot."

"I thought you would." She replied, now looking at him in a bit of a triumphant manner with a wink.

Bean then spoke up and stated, "I'll never understand you two. One minute you're bickering, the next you're flirting. You mind telling me what's up with you guys?"

"None of your beeswax." Sonic told him smugly.

The green bird gritted his teeth in anger at Sonic's smart remark, with Bark asking after a brief pause, "Never mind that. What did the Princess just whisper to you?

"Sorry, but that's personal information." The blue hedgehog answered bluntly.

"Oh c'mon, you can at least tell us what you have cooked up against that bloke." Dingo argued strongly.

"Why do you even care?" Sally inquired with arched eyebrows. "I mean, it's no concern of yours really."

"Because we'd like to help and do our part." Bean explained.

That statement however rubbed Sonic the wrong way, stating with another frown and crossed arms, "Help, eh? Oh, you mean like help Snurvely counter it perhaps?"

Instantly, the three Mobians went on the defensive, as that accusation struck a personal nerve. However, before they could say one word in responded, Sally inquired with an out of patience sigh, "Sonic, please don't tell me you're going to accuse them of being spies again."

"You bet I am." He replied. "You really think they're this eager to know what you told me for nothing?"

Sally couldn't help but admit she too was wondering why they showed deep interest in this all of a sudden. Nevertheless, Bean said angrily in response before she could, "We just want to help you Freedom Fighters anyway we can to show our appreciation for saving our lives. Why must you be so distrustworthy of us?"

Sonic was very tempted to bring up his evidence again, but decided to answer in a more clever way, inquiring, "So, you really want to help us out?"

"Yes, we do." Bark answered. "Just name it, and we'll gladly comply."

"In that case," Sonic concluded with a big smirk on his face. "I'd like you three to go to Rotor's workshop and clean out his closet there."

"WHAT?" Needless to say, this was not the assignment they wanted at all.

"No, we mean in the battle against Snively." Bean explained. "Anything you'd like us to help you with in that regard, we'll gladly do."

"Ah, ah, ah…" the blue hedgehog retorted, waving a finger from his right hand at them. "You said name it and you'll comply. Well, that's my request. If you really mean what you'll say, you'll get to it on the double."

When Sonic put it that way, they knew there was no way of getting out of without hurting their reputation. So, they finally swallowed their pride with Bark answering softly with a sigh, "As you wish, hedgehog."

And with that statement, the three of them left for the workshop at once.

Once they were out of ear's range, she said to him, "I don't know if that's the best of ideas. Are you sure they can be trusted to do such a job?"

"Relax, Sal." Sonic told her boldly. "I'll have Rotor and my Uncle Chuck supervising them and keeping a close eye. If those guys dare step out of line, they'll be reported to us immediately."

"Well, yes, I suppose that can work…" the squirrel princess stated awkwardly. After a long pause, she added, "Anyway, you better go inform your Uncle and Rotor right away of their new tasks. I'll get started on the counter attack in the meantime."

"Ok then. I'll see you in a bit." The blue hedgehog replied. Before he left though, he inquired further, "So tell me, where are going to get the technology to build this counter weapon anyhow? It sounds mondo complicated if you ask me"

"Where else, Sonic hedgehog?" Sally replied with a smirk. "Wes Weasley."

"Ah, yes, I almost forgot about him." He said.

"With his black market ties, we should easily be able to get the materials to build this weapon in time for the battle in the dessert."

"Oh yea…" Sonic said fired up, pumping his right fist in this air. "We're gonna toast old needle nose for good this time!"

* * *

><p>Meanwhile an hour later, Bunnie and Manic sat near the Power Rings pond and had a personal conversation.<p>

"So, how do you like Knothole so far?" Bunnie asked him

Manic shrugged his shoulders and replied, "Its ok I guess. It's not as cool as the shelter, but being one of the Freedom Fighters definitely makes up for it."

The cyborg rabbit quickly giggled at his words, telling him, "Well, I'm glad you're happy here, Sugarhog."

Manic blushed at her statement. "Sugarhog?"

"It's just a nickname I call anyone who's a hedgehog. You don't mind, do ya?" Bunnie asked coyly.

"Uh, I guess not."

After a few awkward seconds, Bunnie then asked, "So tell me more about y'all. I'm curious."

"Well, to be honest, not much to tell." Manic explained. "When Cyrus took me to the shelter, Ferrel asked him if he could raise me in his home for the time being. Cyrus agreed, and I learned under him."

"He was a thief, wasn't he?" Bunnie inquired

"Yea, I guess you know that by now." Manic said sheepishly. "Actually, he was a secret thief since Cyrus threatened to kick him out of the shelter if he caught him actually stealing anything."

"I can't believe he would actually teach a small child how to steal from people." Bunnie commented with a frown. "Did he have any standards at all?"

"Yea, I know he wasn't exactly the best role model for me." The green hedgehog explained. "But for what it was worth, I learned important stuff under him."

"Like what, Manic?"

"Well, aside from petty theft, he taught me how to pick locks and hack computers."

"Really?"

Manic quickly nodded his head, adding, "Actually, you might say it was a blessing in disguise. With these special skills, I know I can help my bro and his team over throw Robotropolis."

"Yea, you got a point there. Although I do have one question to ask you."

"What's that, Bunnie?"

"You're not stealing anymore, are ya?"

Manic quickly shook his head and said, "Nope, I've been done with that lifestyle for quite some time now. I never liked it much to begin with to be honest with you."

"Oh?"

"Yea. And, after reuniting with Sonic, I realized being more like him was the way to go for me."

"Aw, that's really sweet of you." Bunnie said with a smile. "Wanting to emulate your brother."

"Well, to be honest, I know this is what my Mom and Dad would have wanted me to do. After all, they did put their lives on the line for me and my sibs during the Great War."

"You miss them a lot, don't you?" Bunnie asked softly.

Manic quickly looked away in sadness, answering somberly with a tear falling from his eye, "Yea, I do. But, I won't give up the hope that one day I'll be reunited with them."

After a few seconds of awkward silence, the green hedgehog asked, now looking her in the eye, "So, you mind if I ask you a personal question now?"

"Sure, shoot, Sugarhog."

"Um, how come you're half metal?"

Bunnie herself now looked away herself with a look of pain in her face, answering with a sullen sigh, "I didn't think you would ask me that."

"I'm sorry. I meant no offense. I was just curious is all. You don't have to tell me if you rather not."

"No, that's ok." Bunnie said softly, looking at him again. "I mean, I guess you have a right to know since you ended up in a roboticizer too."

Manic nodded his head, as that memory was still fresh in his mind.

"Well, about three years ago," Bunnie explained. "Ah was on a mission with Sonic and Sally girl to shut down one of Robotnik's factories. At that time, ah wasn't very experienced at this kind of work. So, I got careless and ended up captured by a Swatbot."

"What do you mean by careless?" the green hedgehog inquired with deep curiosity.

"Well, while I was hiding in one of the vents on the right side of the room, I saw the switch nearby that would shutdown the main power of the building." Bunnie told him. "So, I bided my time and attempted to shut it off when I thought the coast was clear." After a long and painful pause, she added, "But, I didn't factor in the switch activating the alarm when I tried to press down on it. Within seconds, a half of dozen Swatbots ran in and surrounded me."

"Oh, that must have frightened you."

"It was one of the most terrifying experiences of my life." She replied, trying to keep her emotions in check. "That bucket of bolts then took me to Robotnik's main quarters. On the spot, that horrid dictator laughed in my face, rubbing in the fact that I would soon be his robotic slave."

"So what happened next?" Manic asked

"Robotnik then ordered me to be put in the roboticizer in the next room. After I was securely inside, I began to hyperventilate. The very thought of being a machine terrified me to my inner core."

Bunnie could not make herself continue, as she began to cry inside just thinking about it.

"I'm sorry; you don't have to tell me anymore." Manic said

"No, I need to do this." Bunnie told him, with emotion in her voice. "It's the only way I'll ever be at peace about it."

"Ohhhk then…"

"Anyway, the Swatbot quickly turned the machine on. Within moments, my whole body began to feel a tremendous burning sensation as electricity ran through it like getting hit with multiple lightening bolts."

Manic instantly cringed at trying to picture that experience in his head. "That must have felt horrible."

Bunnie nodded her head with tears in her eyes. "It was like my whole body was being burnt alive. I thought the pain would never stop. But five seconds later, the machine somehow shut off halfway. Ah didn't know why it did at the time, but I thought I escaped without harm. However in that exact moment, Ah looked down to a horrific sight. My legs and right arm were now made of metal."

"Oh no."

Bunnie's eyes immediately filled with tears a split second after her last sentence and began to weep softly to herself. Manic put his right arm around her to try and comfort the cyborg rabbit's sorrowful state, but even he knew it wouldn't do much to help.

"I'm so sorry that happened to you." Manic said, hugging her tightly with the same arm. "Robuttnik and Needlenose will pay dearly for the pain they've caused you. I promise you that."

Bunnie felt better by his bold words, but said, "Ah know they will, but that doesn't mean my emotional scars will disappear anytime soon."

Manic didn't fully understand what she meant by that, but inquired to change the subject, "So, how did you get out of there anyhow?"

"Well, seconds after the machine abruptly shut off, Sonic came bursting through the door and defeated Robotnik's Swatbots with a triple spin. While he kept them busy, Sally came down from one of the ceiling's vents and freed me, where she then helped me escape into another vent and flee."

"I bet they were shocked to see what happened to you."

"Indeed they were, Manic." Bunnie reiterated softly. "Sonic was even ticked enough to cut Robotnik in two once he found out. However, that mad man called in dozens of Swatbots to attack us seconds after I was freed. With only three of us on the mission, and Robotnik's robotic forces on red alert, it was way too risky. So, we instead fled back for Knothole.

"Yea, that's Sonic all right." Manic commented

"Anyway after we returned home, I quickly sunk into a deep depression." The cyborg rabbit told him somberly. "Being half roboticized completely broke my spirits and made me lose all hope."

"Oh man."

"Thankfully after a month of this, Sally gave me a well needed pep talk. She took me aside and explained that in spite of everything that happened, there was still hope. At first, I verbally lashed out at Sally, quite violently too I hate to admit, telling her she had no idea what it was like to suffer this horrible fate and she had no business trying to give me advice. I knew I shouldn't have done it, but I just couldn't help myself. I felt at the time she didn't understand my feelings at all or even cared."

"But she did, didn't she?"

Bunnie nodded in agreement and replied with a remorseful sigh, "Yea. Sally then told me she knew exactly what it was like to feel pain. She lost her Dad to the Void and was driven from her home at the age of five. She even lost her Mom to an illness. So, in that moment, I knew deep down Sally girl did indeed understand my pain. It may not have been the same circumstances, but they were horrible experiences nonetheless."

"She sounds like a wonderful friend." Manic commented

"Ah couldn't have asked for a better one." Bunnie stated softly with a warm smile." Anyway, Sally told me that I was needed as part of the team, and that feeling sorry for myself and having a pity party wasn't doing me any good. I didn't take her words well at first, but I knew deep down she was right. I was wasting my life away by sulking in my room all those days."

"So it was shortly after that you learned to accept yourself for who you were?"

"Yea, something like that, Manic. Sally then explained to me that while having metal legs and an arm would be very difficult at times, it did have its advantages. I thought she was crazy, but when she explained to me I could use them to get back at Robotnik, it all of a sudden made sense. After giving it a lot of thought, I knew what I had to do. I would use my robotic parts to fight for my friends and help free Mobius."

"I bet you really walloped some Swatbutts after getting back in the war." Manic said with a smirk.

Bunnie quickly giggled at his words and replied, "Yea, you bet I did. It actually felt really good to do my part on the frontlines." She then added after a brief pause, "With this being my new life's calling, I was content with myself and life again."

"Wow, that's quite a story you got there." Manic told her.

"Yea. Don't get me wrong though, I still have moments where I feel down and hate the way I look. But like I told Sally girl, I'm gonna grin and bear it for now. And hopefully one day, I'll be returned to normal."

"I gotta say, you're really one tough gal." Manic commented. "I like that about you."

"Aw, thanks, Sugarhog." Bunnie said blushing. "Still, I hope one day after I'm deroboticized, I'll be as pretty as my best friend Sally is now."

Manic then looked at her and said, "Hey, even if never do return to normal, you'll still be one very attractive girl to me. Don't ever forget that."

In that moment, Bunnie felt light headed and swooned, thinking with a passionate sigh, he thinks I'm attractive!

"Oh, Manic, you're so sweet." She said, looking at him with love in her eyes.

Moments later however, Bunnie leaned in close to give him a kiss on the cheek, but before she could, Sonic and Sally came running up to them, causing the cyborg rabbit to nearly jump out of her fur.

"There you guys are." Sally said. "C'mon, we need you to... uh, were we interrupting something?"

"N-n-n-o, Sally girl." Bunnie stammered. "What's up?"

"Meet us at my hut in ten minutes." Sally instructed. "I need to give an update to everyone about Snively's latest plans."

"Will do." Bunnie said firmly with a nod.

After Sonic and Sally left to find the others, Sonic commented with a grin, "Do my eyes deceive me, or was my bro flirting with Bunnie?"

"Sonic, it's really none of our business." Sally told him with a frown.

"I know, I know. Still, makes ya wonder, don't it?" he stated smirking.

Sally then groaned to herself, thinking while shaking her head, Boys! Why do they have to make such a big deal about this?

Back at the Power Rings Pool, Bunnie looked at Manic, still deeply blushing inside, and said softly, "Uh, guess we should get going."

"Yea." Manic said sheepishly

As they walked back, the green hedgehog asked her with a smile, "You were about to kiss me, weren't you?"

Bunnie however answered with a hesitant stammer, "Uh, well… maybe."

"It's ok." Manic told her. "I'm actually flattered you like me that much."

Bunnie's emotions began to run wild, as she was thrilled by the fact he showed some interest in her as well. Even so, she restrained herself and said, "Anyway, we can talk about this later. Right now, we need to see what Sal's got cooked up."

"Yea, good thinking." Manic said with a nod.

* * *

><p>At the designated time, every Freedom Fighter, except for Uncle Chuck was in Sally's hut for the meeting. The roboticized hedgehog was not there because he was now supervising to make sure their new recruits were doing an honest job in cleaning out the closet.<p>

"According to the information on Snively's disk," Sally explained. "His next target is Ari's Freedom Fighters in the desert."

"Ah thought his team was all roboticized." Bunnie said.

"Yes, there were." Sally confirmed. "But he's gotten more recruits recently after getting an update of his whereabouts."

"Sounds to me like old needle nose is trying to take out all our reinforcements in order to weaken us from the inside." Sonia commented angrily

"You're exactly right. However, I will not happen, especially now that I have a counter plan in the works in case Snively ignores my demand to halt his operation."

"I have a strong hunch he will he not only ignore it, Sally girl, he'll even pretend to agree to your demand just to get our guard down." Bunnie commented with a frown.

"That's what I'm expecting too," the squirrel princess reiterated, "But the second he tries that, he'll be a sitting duck."

"So what are these counter plans you're talking about anyway?" Tails asked.

Sally then requested Nicole to show a holographic diagram of the desert where Ari's Freedom Fighter base was located, answering with a look of boldness, "The plan is this…" Once it was fully displayed, she added while pointing to certain spots, "According to Nicole's map of the Mobius desert, there are only three wide enough passage ways to enter Ari's base due to the large mountain tops. So, I'm going have those three areas heavily booby trapped."

"And how are you going to do that exactly?" Rotor inquired. "Rigging explosives in a desert is a lot more complicated than it looks, you know."

"Indeed it is." Sally replied with a nod. "However, after talking it over with Wes earlier, I've learned one of his black market contacts sells a specialized type of land mine that not only causes a huge explosion, it even causes a huge hole in the ground where it was dug. That in turn should easily bury ¾ of his army into the desert sand, rendering Snively nearly defenseless."

This statement to say the least caused the entire team to look on deeply impressed.

"This plan is sounding mondo cooler every second." Sonic commented with a smirk.

Before Sally could respond to his words, the purple walrus abruptly spoke up again, stating with deep concern, "I don't think you're taking into consideration the fact Snively will more than likely bring aerial machines such as Hover and Mega Muck Units with him. Those things could easily evade getting hit by a huge sand blast if they're high enough in the air."

"You underestimate me, Rotor." Sally replied. "I'm expecting that maniac to bring those vehicles with him should he double cross me."

"Then… how are you going deal with them?" Rotor inquired. "Are you planning to disable their electronics with another large magnetic bomb?"

"Not this time." The squirrel princess answered, shaking her head "There's sadly not enough time and manpower to make those and prepare the desert land mines at Ari's base.

Sally then added before Rotor could say another word, "Nevertheless, I have two other counter-measures for them. One of them will be Dulcy, where she'll use her ice beams to blind the windshields and even clog the engines and mega muck cannons. The other will be Manic, where he'll use his hoverboard and drop multiple pipe bombs from above to heavily damage these aircrafts. And in case any others somehow manage to escape their assault, Sonic will finish the remaining off with a Power Ring attack. This way, there is no escape. Snively's crushes will be annihilated before he can even get within fifty feet of us."

Rotor now looked on completely amazed, stating, "Whoa, that's brilliant…"

Sally however brushed off his compliment, telling everyone with the utmost serious look on her face, "My friends and comrades, when we arrive at the base at 4pm two days from now, we will deliver the knockout punch and finally end this war with Robotnik's pathetic nephew once and for all. This time, it's all or nothing!"

Everyone was completely blown away by the fierce tone on Sally's face as she said that last sentence. Needless to say, she had gotten their attention and then some.

Sonic then said while smacking his fists together all fired up, "Oh yea, now you're talking my kind of language!"

Again though, Sally kept her mind on the task at hand, adding, "After the traps are set, Sonic and I will go out near the entrance of the base and prepare to meet Snively. And once he shows us his hand, he'll either be exiled or executed, whichever comes first. Either way, his time as dictator will soon be over."

This time, everyone in the room cheered at her words in utter excitement. Sally then said once the cheers began to die down, "Make sure you bring as much ammo as you can carry. I don't want to take any chances of Snively getting away."

"You can count on us, Sally girl." Bunnie said enthused, raising her non metal arm. "That nasty dictator's going down."

"All right everyone…" Sally continued, "We've got a lot of work ahead of us. So let's get busy and prepare to restore peace to our world."

And with those words, she dismissed the meeting. One by one, they filed out and prepared to do their tasks. Sonic though stayed behind and said after walking up to Sally on her right side, stating, "I gotta hand it to you, Sal you really gave a way past cool speech just then. Even your plan is gold."

This time, Sally couldn't help but rub it in a little bit, replying with confidence, "I told you I knew I was doing, Sonic hedgehog. You really should trust me more."

While Sonic was tempted to acknowledge that fact, he said instead, "Although, I think you might be getting ahead of yourself with the final battle talk. No way do I see old needle nose letting us beat him that easily, especially after you humiliated him in front of us in Lower Mobius."

Sally then looked the blue hedgehog directly in the eye, stating as stern as she could without appearing cross, "Sonic, let me tell you something… when we go head towards Ari's base in the Mobius desert, I am not leaving until Snively is finally defeated. That is how serious I am taking this mission."

Like Rotor, Sonic also looked on a bit speechless at her words, saying a bit hesitantly, "Sal, you really are going for broke here, aren't you?"

"You bet I am." She told him bluntly with a nod. "Needless to say, your words about me caring more about Snively's wants than about the team really got me thinking after you left. So you can be rest assured, I want this war to be finally over so they can stop worrying about another assault by this maniac. That is how much I care about their feelings and well being."

Now even more inspired by her fierce determination, Sonic soon said to her with a smile and a nod, "Well, you can count me in to make sure I'll be giving it my all to see it happen."

"I had a feeling you would, Sonic." Sally stated in a playful tone and a wink.

Meanwhile outside, Rotor soon walked over to Bunnie and gave her a light tap on the shoulder. When she turned around, he said, "Thought you might like to know how the development of your new weapon is coming along."

Bunnie didn't care about this weapon idea of his anymore, but to not hurt her friend's feelings, she replied, "Ok, shoot."

"Well…" he explained."It's not quite ready yet. There are still a lot of technical problems to work out."

"Oh, I see." Deep down, Bunnie was relieved.

"But, not to worry, I should have the problems ironed out by next week." Rotor told her confidently.

"Oh, uh, thanks, Sugar."

"No problem. Well, I guess I'll catch ya later then." The purple walrus said, heading for his workshop. "I've got a lot of work to do now."

After he left and was out of sight, Manic walked up to her and asked, "So, what weapon is he planning to make for you anyway?"

"Uh, he said he would be able to attach a Swatbot's laser gun to my metal arm for combat."

"Really? Sounds cool." The green hedgehog commented with a look of intrigue on his face.

"Yea, but there's a chance using that doodad might injure me." The cyborg rabbit explained with a look of nervousness.

"Oh, I see what you mean. I guess that's why you're so reluctant to try it out." Manic said

After a few seconds of awkward silence, Bunnie said to him, "Ah guess we better prepare for our upcoming mission."

"Yea, I guess we should." Manic commented sheepishly. He then turned around and waved at her, saying, "Well, I'll see ya around then."

When he started to leave, Bunnie however spoke up and said while running up to him, "Hold on a sec, Sugarhog."

"Something wrong, Bunnie?" Manic asked puzzled

"Well, it's just, I, uh…" Sadly, she could not make herself lean, no matter how hard she tried. Nevertheless, she told herself in her mind a few seconds later with anger, Oh, just get it over it with already!

In one quick swoop, Bunnie completely took him by surprise as she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.

"What was that for?" he inquired, looking at her a bit puzzled, as well as a bit happy.

"I just wanted to thank you for your kind words you said to me earlier." Bunnie replied blushing.

"It was nothing really." the green hedgehog told her with a big smile on his face. "I told you that because it's the truth. You really are better than you make yourself out to be."

"Aw, you really are too sweet." Bunnie commented, now feeling swooned again.

In that moment, she felt a strong urge to grab Manic by his shoulders and passionately kiss him over and over. However, Bunnie knew deep down this was not the place or the time to do so. Instead, she said after composing herself, "Well, I'll catch ya later then. Bye, Sugarhog."

"Bye."

As she turned to leave, Bunnie blew him a kiss and then walked away.

Seconds later, Sonic snuck up from behind Manic and said ribbing him, "Well, well, hope bout that? My little bro is getting all mushy with Bunnie."

Manic was surprised at first, but he retorted to Sonic, "No way, bro. She's the one who came onto me."

"Maybe so, but I can tell you like it."

"So? Who wouldn't? She is a cool girl after all." Manic said defensively.

Moments later, Sonic was about to sing the song about tree people in a tree, but could only get three words out before he was smacked from behind by Sonia on the back of the head.

"Hey, what gives, sis?" the blue hedgehog demanded, rubbing that area with his right hand while frowning at her. "I was only kidding around."

"Really, Sonic, do you always have to be so immature?" Sonia interrogated, scolding him.

"Unfortunately, yes." Sally said, now walking out of her hut.

"Aw, c'mon, I was only having a little fun here." Sonic argued. "What, is that not allowed anymore?"

"Sonic, we have a vital mission to prepare for." The squirrel princess told him with a frown while placing her hands at her waist. "There is no time for fun and games now."

"Relax, Sal. I already told you, I will give you my very best when it's time to take it to Snurvely." Sonic stated confidently. "You can trust me on that."

"Even so, I would prefer it if you actually gave me your best efforts from this point on." She countered. "We could get so much more accomplished in the past if you actually took your role as a Freedom Fighter more seriously."

"Well, excuse me for not wanting to be uptight and stressed out all time." Sonic countered with a frown. "Life ain't worth living to me if you can't sit back and enjoy yourself every now and then."

Sally sadly could see this turning into a pointless argument. So instead, she said with a heavy and frustrated sigh, "Never mind… you prepare for the mission how you see fit. I trust you know the severity of it enough that you won't let me down. "

The squirrel princess then added while walking away, "I've got to see Wes Weasley about something now anyway."

Feeling a bit guilty for bickering with her moment earlier, Sonic replied with a solemn nod, "Ok then. Take care, Sal."

Sally looked back and gave him a small wave, where she then continued her walk towards the shady weasel. After she was out of ear's range, Sonic said sheepishly to his brother, "I guess Sal does make a good point here. We can't afford to make any mistakes with old needle nose looming about."

"Indeed so." Manic reiterated.

Moments later, Sonic added with another sheepish grin to his brother, "Anyway, I hope you know I was just kidding around with you about Bunnie. I like to rib people about that kind of stuff. Nothing personal."

"Ah, it's ok." Manic replied with a shrug. "I'll let it go, this time anyway."

"Oh, and what's that supposed to mean?"

"It means, bro, I'll be singing those lyrics to you when you're hanging out with Sally if you're not careful." The green hedgehog told him with a sly wink.

That ironically stopped Sonic in his tracks, saying deeply embarrassed in response, "Well, since you put it that way, guess I'll back off then."

"I thought you would." Manic said with a smug grin. "Besides, I can tell deep down you really like the Princess, even if you are very shy about it."

"Yea, so what if I do?" Sonic retorted, placing his hands at his waist.

"You're in love with her, aren't you?" Manic inquired, now ribbing him in the same manner.

"No more than you are with Bunnie." The blue hedgehog shot back.

After a few back and forth ribs among the two hedgehog brothers, Sonia finally had enough of their behavior and said out loud exasperated, "Would you two grow up already? Honestly, you both act like you're five years old! How either of those gals like you is beyond me."

"Chill, sis." Sonic replied, now grinning at her. "Your turn will come soon enough."

"Yea, maybe Antoine will fall in love with you like he's done with them." Manic added with a chortle.

That statement caused the female hedgehog's cheeks to turn several shades of bright red, as she said stammering in response, "D-don't say things like that out loud. That dork might actually be bold enough to try it."

"Oh, that would be priceless to see, wouldn't you agree?" Sonic said after a brief pause, turning to give his brother a friendly elbow to his chest.

"Indeed." Manic reiterated, trying to stifle himself from laughing out loud.

By this point, Sonia could no longer stand their bantering, as she soon angrily walked away in a huff, muttering with disgust, "Brothers…"

"What's her problem?" the green hedgehog inquired with confusion.

"Eh, I guess she can't take a joke." Sonic commented with a subtle smirk on his face.

"Yea, I guess not." Manic replied, soon flashing the same expression.

Sonic then said in a more serious tone of voice, "Anyway, I think we better cut out the goofing around for now and get to work."

"Yea, good thinking, bro."

* * *

><p>That night in Robotropolis, Snively finally got around to dealing with the dumb bots for their previous screw-up, as he now walked over to their cell to give them a piece of his mind.<p>

Needless to say, it wouldn't be pretty. The split second he stood in front of their cell, all three of them nearly let out a yelp in complete surprise dread, fearing they were about to be melted down or scrapped.

"Tell me, you pathetic stooge bots…" he interrogated with a look of fierce anger. "Is there any reason whatsoever why I should not destroy you for your disgusting bungling of letting the Freedom Fighters escape from my impenetrable jail cell?"

While all three of them stuttered and stammered in heavy hesitation to think of something, he quickly added with a shout, "Well, do you or not? I dare you to give me one reason!"

Scratch then finally got the courage to speak, saying, "Well, uh, Snively the Great, there is one thing I can think of that might change your mind."

"And that is…?"

With a nervous cackle, the metal chicken said to the small dictator, "I don't know if you're aware of this, but about a week before this incident, we actually played a major role in roboticizing a civilian, the very one that you used to guard the computer room that same night."

Snively now looked at him with arched eyebrows, inquiring, "That was your doing?" he then added while crossing his arms together, "Don't be preposterous! Neither of you know the first thing about how to capture one of those filthy Mobians, let alone operate my machine!"

"It's true, sir." Grounder replied, speaking up. "A big, fat purple cat stayed behind to give the others a chance to escape. Once they did, we snuck up on this tub of lard from behind when his guard was down and took him prisoner."

"Yea," Coconuts chimed in. "and then we shoved him into the remaining roboticizer and flipped the switch. Well, once we knew where the switch was that is…"

Snively studied their facial expressions, as he wasn't about to believe their story. Nevertheless, he demanded after a long pause, "And why should I believe this report? For all I know, you could have made up the whole story just to stall me."

"Sir, if you'll check the video logs from the past week," Scratch suggested, "I believe you'll see us on it in the roboticizer room. The camera was still working then after the attack, wasn't it?"

"Yes, it was." The small dictator answered gruffly. "Your point?"

Then check it to confirm our story." Grounder said. "If we're really lying to you here, we wouldn't plead with you to check the actual video of what happened that night."

Ironically, his words were enough to get Snively to ponder it over long and hard, even pacing around the room. He was silent for such a long stretch; it seriously worried the three dumb bots. Finally, after two minutes of this, he let out a heavy sigh, telling them bluntly after he stopped pacing, "I don't know why, but for some crazy reason, a part of me believes you. Therefore, I shall indeed check the video logs. If what you say is true, then perhaps I'll strongly consider dropping your punishment of being scrapped."

Once they heard that, all three robots let out a sigh of relief, with Scratch saying, "Oh, thank you, your lordship. You won't be sorry you did this."

"Don't start trying to butter me up just yet." The small dictator told them sharply. "You've got a long ways to go from being off the hook. Even if your story does turn out to be true, that won't change the fact I'm ticked at you for letting Sonic and his furry friends escape."

Scratch then walked next up the bars and said, "I know, sir, and believe me, we want to make this up to you and redeem ourselves. We feel bad about messing up too. You weren't the only one who wanted to see them become your robot slaves."

Sensing a bit of sincerity in his voice, Snively replied with a huff, "You may very well get your wish, barring your story checks out of course… but I'm not making any guarantees here one way or the other. For now, your fate is yet to be determined. Do you understand me?"

"Understood, Snively the Great." Grounder answered with a nod.

"Good. Now then, if you'll excuse me, I have much work to do. My investigation of your crimes will unfortunately have to be put on hold for the time being, as I have to prepare for the next phase of my plan, as well as write a message to Princess Sally."

"Why do you have to do that?" Scratch inquired with curiosity.

"It's part of my strategy, ok?" Snively answered evasively. "This is no concern of yours anyhow."

"But, you never had to do anything like this before." Grounder argued. "Besides, what could a letter possibly do to help defeat her and those furballs?"

"Stop butting in to my personal business if you know what's good for you!" the small dictator told them sharply, now looking back at them with an expression of anger on his face. "You just sit tight. I'll get to your case soon enough. Now then, good night to you."

And with that statement, Snively walked back to his lair.

Once he was out of sight and ear's range, Coconuts said to the others, "I don't get it… did I miss something? Snively the Great really seemed really bent out of shape when we asked him about this. It's as if he was ashamed to tell us the truth why he was sending the Princess a letter."

"Yea, now that you mention it… that does appear to be the case." Scratch reiterated, placing a wing under his chin to ponder this over, "I remember when he got back from Lower Mobius, he was in a really bad mood, worse then usual in fact."

"You really think he's hiding something here?" Grounder asked.

"It's a very strong possibility." The metal chicken concluded. "Still, what could be so secretive about why you're writing a letter to your worst enemy? It's almost as if he was…"

Scratch could not finish that thought, as the whole idea to him and the others was completely stupid and asinine to even imagine, eventually saying with a brush off with his right wing, "Nah, it can't be…"

"Or could it…?" Coconuts countered, giving him a look of deep concern.

To put it lightly, none of them wanted to believe such a notion had just taken place. However, their suspicions would ironically be proven right. At that very moment, Snively was indeed planning to send a letter about Princess Sally's demands to surrender.

About an hour earlier he had received an anonymous letter in a blank envelope, personally delivered by Sonic near the Robotropolis main entrance.

The letter went like this:

Snively, I will be expecting a letter soon from you within the next 36 hours. Don't even bother to try and use this opportunity to get the drop on us. It will not work. Any attempt will lead to your immediate execution. By no later than noon the following day, you will place a letter of your reply to my demands near the entrance to the Great Forest. This letter must be brought by you personally and alone. No Swatbots or any of your war machines of any kind. I will have someone secretly watching the area in case you get any second thoughts about double crossing me.

After the letter has been brought to the designated spot, you are to return to your base ASAP and await my next set of instructions. If you dare loiter around the Great Forest for even a minute after this, my secret watchmen will sound the secret alarm, where you will then be dealt with promptly.

I strongly suggest you comply with my demands if you want to live. I am not kidding around with you anymore, you despicable maniac. From this moment on, you will do EXACTLY what I say or I will see to it your death will be a swift and violent one.

Sincerely,

Princess Sally.

Needless to say, Snively was enraged at her demands in the letter, even tempted to crumple the paper up in outright defiance. However, he knew that would only bring him more trouble. So instead, he said after composing himself, "Well then, if the Princess demands this from me, she'll get it. But what I have in store for her and her little pathetic merry group soon after, she'll never see coming."

As he began to write his reply, the small dictator added with a fierce hiss, "This wretched squirrel will severely regret the day she made a fool out of me. I will personally to see to that!"

* * *

><p>The following afternoon in Knothole, Wes Weasley's black market associate came by to bring by a couple of the special weapons Princess Sally has requested. As a safety precaution, the black market weapon's dealer was temporarily blinded folded to keep from knowing the secret entrance of their home.<p>

"Here you go, Princess." The dealer said heavily grunting, placing the object on a metal crate in front of her. "My special, one of a kind desert land mine, just like you wanted." Wes Weasley's black market associate was none other than a tall and muscular Mobian grizzly bear, wearing only a silver colored vest and a pair of red shaded sunglasses.

When Sally tried to pick it up, he said with a chuckle, "I'd leave it there if I were you. This baby weighs a good twenty five pounds. It'll smash your paws badly if it lands on them."

Needless to say, the squirrel princess did as he she was told; now admiring the professionally crafted weapon up close

"This thing looks amazing." She stated in awe. "How did you build such a device?"

The weapon's dealer again chuckled, replying, "I'm afraid that's a trade secret, Princess. Let's just say I have a knack for this kind of work."

"I see…" after examining it further, she added with a psyched up look, "This is just what we need. With these devices in our possession, Snively's army will be toast if they dare attack us."

"Glad to hear it." The grizzly bear said. He then added while lifting up his shades, "Anyway, now that I know you're satisfied with my work, I'd like to get paid now so I can get back to my shop if you don't mind."

"Get paid? But I thought Wes Weasley paid you for these already."

"I'm afraid not this time, Princess." The crooked salesman told her sheepishly. "These are sadly just too much out of my price range, even with my business profits."

"Then why didn't you tell me that yesterday when I talked to you about them?" Sally demanded.

"Well, I thought perhaps we could maybe try a different kind of payment this time." Wes Weasley explained. "Something even more valuable than 3,000 Mobiums."

"3,000 MOBIUMS?!" Sally exclaimed in shock. "That much?"

"Of course." The weapons' dealer answered bluntly. "It takes a lot to build these babies. What, you thought these were some crude explosive?"

Sally soon out a frustrated sigh. "Never mind…" she then turned to Wes Weasley and inquired, "So what exactly did you have in mind for payment?"

"Um, well… I was thinking along the lines of perhaps asking for an IOU in exchange for a special contract."

The split second Wes said the words IOU; the weapon's dealer arched both eyebrows as high as they would go.

"A special contract? What are you talking about, Weasley?" Sally interrogated. "You're making no sense here."

Sensing he had gotten himself in a pickle, the witty weasel finally decided to bite the bullet and say it, as he requested of his black market friend, "I really hate to ask this of you, but could I persuade you into perhaps allowing them to have the desert mines for free now if the Princess here agrees to give you a special weapon's contract, one that would make one of her exclusive weapon suppliers?"

"Are you out of your mind?" the dealer demanded of him, crossing his arms together. "I'm not a bank. I have to cover my costs. These are expensive to make and it takes a lot of work to make them."

"I understand that, palsy." Wes replied. "But this is a golden opportunity for you if you look at it from another perspective."

"And how do you figure that exactly?" the grizzly bear interrogated. "You act like I'll make more money in the future if I take a hit now for the sake of the war."

"Precisely my point." The crooked salesman said. "With that contract, you'll be a supplier to someone who should one day become Queen of Mobius. And if you help her out now, she'll no doubt repay you with a lucrative partnership that will make you very rich after they take out that needle nose Snively."

After a long pause, the black grizzly bear furrowed his brow and said, "Ok, look, if you can't pay for these now, then I'll just take them back. I'm not going to give you a special deal just because you were once royalty."

"No, you can't do that." Sally pleaded. "I need these to defeat Snively."

"I'm sorry, Princess," the weapon's dealer said as empathetically as he could to her, "I like the work you're doing here, but I cannot give you my weapons for nothing. I'd be broke within weeks."

With the deal about to go up in smoke, Sally went for broke, saying to the grizzly bear, "Sir, allow me to explain our position first before taking them back."

"I'm not in the mood to hear a sob story, Princess." The weapon's dealer told her. "I know you are trying to take down the Robotnik Empire to restore your family's honor, but I need a guarantee here. I'm not someone who will invest in an undetermined future."

"I understand that," Sally replied. "But what you don't realize is, we're on the brink of perhaps finally overthrowing this Empire you just mentioned."

"And how do you figure that?" the weapon's dealer interrogated with arched eyebrows. "There's no guarantee you will defeat him in your next battle."

"Yes, you're right, but that is exactly what I'm gunning for." Sally explained. "I have given Snively an ultimatum after we had a major victor in Lower Mobius. He is either to surrender within 24 hours and leave this part of Mobius or he'll be executed."

Not surprisingly, the weapon's dealer chuckled, retorting, "You really think he's going to do that?"

"No, I don't, but I have given him the choice of that or death if we pin him again." The squirrel princess told him. "That's where your special mines come into play. I don't expect him to surrender, but to attack Ari's Freedom Fighter base, with a large assault for that matter."

"Princess, I'm a bottom line kind of guy." The black grizzly bear said with a frown. "You mind getting to that part already and sparing me these boring details?"

"The bottom line is this…" Sally said boldly. "If you let use these mines for free for now, and they help us take him out, I will give you what Wes Weasley mentioned earlier: a special weapon's contract that will make you one of your exclusive suppliers of the New Mobotropolis' military once my father and I have been returned to the throne. I'll even pay you double your usual fees as a sign of my gratitude."

"And why should I believe any of this?" the weapon's dealer demanded. "It sounds like nothing more than a fancy pipe dream if you ask me."

"It isn't." the squirrel princess reiterated. "Think of this benefit too: If we take out Snively, you'll be free to get more parts for your explosives without fear of Swatbots taking you prisoner, or losing anymore of your customers as well. You can't tell me they've haven't been doing a number on your business deals around here."

With a heavy sigh, the grizzly bear answered with a shake of his head, "Yea, that is true… Every month, I lose at least one or two of my clients to the roboticizer. And quite frankly, I'm getting very sick of it. I can't even turn my head without wondering which client of mine will be its next victim."

"Then allow us this special favor, and I'll make sure you get a lot of business for your efforts once we take that madman out." Sally suggested. "You can trust me on this. I'm a woman of my word."

Needless to say, the weapon's dealer was still very skeptical about the whole deal. However, sensing the sincerity in her speech and fire in her eyes, he finally gave in, though with extreme reluctance. "Very well then." He said with a heavy sigh, "I'll allow you to have them free for now, but you had BETTER NOT be getting my hopes up for nothing. I'll be expecting some big time compensation for this in the near future. You get me?"

"You will get your payment and then some." Sally replied with a nod of reassurance. "I thank you for being fair enough to trust us on this. Your faith in us will not be in vain."

"Yea, yea, if you say so." The dealer muttered. "Well, I guess I'll let you get back to your war efforts then." As he started to walk away, he soon looked back and said while stopping, "Oh yes, one more thing. When you do finally take down that maniac, let me know. I want to witness his execution first hand."

"Will do." The squirrel princess replied. "Wes Weasley meanwhile will escort you back outside of Knothole the same way you came in, where you will then be allowed to return."

"Fine by me." The grizzly bear said.

And with that statement, Wes blind folded the bear again and took him by the hand back out towards the Great Forest.

* * *

><p>The next day, the Knothole Freedom Fighters arrived at the desert at around 2:30pm. Even the three Mobians who Snively almost captured came along with them as well after a long of pleading. The only ones who stayed behind besides the usual was Antoine, who offered to do cleaning of the team's huts while they were away as a way to impress the ladies.<p>

Needless to say, they didn't bite.

Ari and the others meanwhile quickly greeted their comrades as soon as they came into view.

"Good timing, Princess." Ari said

"We wouldn't miss this for anything." Sonic said with a smirk.

"So far, so good…" The ram replied. "We haven't seen any signs of Snively or his robotic forces for the time being."

"Oh, they should be making their presence known very shortly." Sally said firmly with a frown. "I'm almost certain of it. I even got his reply in the Great Forest earlier this morning from that maniac."

"What did it say?" the ram asked.

"He said he accepts my terms and is coming nearby your base to write up his official papers of surrender to us." The squirrel princess explained.

"And you don't buy a word of it I take it?"

"I'd sooner believe old needle nose was an alien from another planet than that baloney, Ari." Sonic told him bluntly.

Ari chuckled at the blue hedgehog response, adding, "Heh, I couldn't have said it better myself.

It was then they saw a brand new recruit standing beside Ari, one that Sally, nor her comrades had seen before.

"And who is this?" the squirrel princess inquired with curiosity.

"Ah, yes, forgive me…" Ari said, clearing his throat. "I'd like you all to meet our newest member of my Desert Freedom Fighters." Turning towards the orange furred female Manx feline, he added, "Her name is Tiara. She just joined the team three days ago."

Tiara, a brunette with a ponytail while wearing a sporty red outfit, gave them the Knothole Freedom Fighters a friendly wave with her right hand, even looking Sonic in the eye. "So…" she said with a smile. "You're the big shot hero of Mobius I take it…"

"Yep, that's me…" Sonic bragged, placing a thumb on his chest.

Normally, this kind of bragging would turn off most females, but Tiara instead just gave Sonic a bigger smile in response, even a bit of a flirtatious one too, replying, "I guess what I've been told is true… you're even more handsome in person."

Not surprisingly, this response led to a mix reaction. Sonic, not being one to resist a compliment, took in all in stride, even pretending to be all modest about it, even saying softly, "Aw, you're too kind, Miss."

Sally on the other hand just face palmed, as she was sadly too used to seeing this kind of behavior. Even Sonia was becoming annoyed by it as well. Ari thankfully broke the tension building, saying with another clearing of his throat, "That's nice of you to say, Tiara, but we really don't have time for this kind of chitchat. That and the fact Sonic is taken."

Tiara thankfully got the hint of this, even figuring out who was the girl he was with. So, out of respect for Sonic, she shrugged her shoulders and replied, "Very well then…"

After a long and awkward pause, Sally inquired, "So tell me, Ari, why is Tiara standing this close to you? I get the feeling she's one of the higher ranks of your group."

"Indeed she is." The desert ram answered confidently.

"Aren't you jumping the gun a bit?" Sonia inquired, deeply suspicious. "You barely even know her."

"That'd be true in most cases, but Tiara is not your typical new recruit."

"How do you figure that?" the female hedgehog inquired of him, now very curious inside.

"Because not only is she an asset on the battlefield with her fighting skills, but also in the technical aspect of it as well." Ari explained.

"What do you mean by that exactly?" Sally asked, now also deeply curious.

"When her underground shelter in the South was invaded by Snively's forces earlier this week, she was one of the few we managed to free in time." Ari told them. "And it wasn't that long after taking her our base that she shared with us a very powerful secret."

"What kind of secret?" Sonic asked.

Tiara now spoke up, telling them, "It's basically was based off of my late father's research." She then added with deep sadness, "He was trying to come up with a specialized grenade that would turn the war back in the Mobians favor, but sadly was caught and roboticized during a raid. That was about three years ago."

"I'm so sorry to hear that, Sugar." Bunnie said somberly, empathizing with her.

Tiara soon composed herself, adding, "Thankfully, he kept his blueprints and research data well hidden. I found the papers six months later after doing an excavation of the shelter in the middle of the night to find anything that I could to take with me. It wasn't soon afterwards that I vowed to finish the prototype my father was working on and use it to make Robotnik and his vile nephew pay dearly."

"Did Robotnik ever get wind of this prototype?" Sally asked.

Tiara shook her head, replying, "Nope. He never did. My father was so secretive about his work that he only told me about it."

"So how did Ari found about it then?" Sonia inquired.

"Well, as you already know, my shelter was raided by Snively's forces. After being rescued by Ari and his men, I decided to tell him about my father's weapon as a way to say thank you. I even showed him the finished prototype work that I completed about a week earlier."

This no doubt got every Knothole Freedom Fighter's attention, with Sonic asking again, this time deeply impatient "So, where is this prototype you made? Show us it already."

Tiara promptly pulled something out her pocket, revealing it to be a small, yellow and olive green colored grenade in the shape of a rectangle. She then said with deep satisfaction, "Here it is, everyone. I call it… the nano scrambler grenade."

Sonic and his comrades gazed at the weapon with deep intrigue, even letting out an "Ooohhh…" expression to show their fascination.

"So, what does this little baby of yours do exactly?" Sonic asked her.

"Very simple, blue hunk." Tiara replied with another flirtatious smile. "It releases a massive polymorphic orb of energy upon detonation; causing any machine that gets infected to immediately go berserk and attack its robotic brethren. The effects can last from two to five minutes."

"Now that is way past cool." Sonic stated all psyched up.

Sally not surprisingly was again too annoyed by her sweet talk to show she too was very impressed with this device. Ari again thankfully spoke up, patiently telling the orange Manx, "Tiara, could you please not do that anymore? You're kind of getting on the Princess' nerves now."

"What? I was only being friendly is all…" Tiara protested with her eyebrows arched. She then turned to Sally and added, "Don't take it so personal. I'm not going to try and steal him from you. I just think he's cute. Is that a crime?"

"No, but like I said," Ari reiterated, "We don't have time for this kind of talk. We need to get ready for the oncoming assault of Snively's forces."

"Yea, yea, I get it." The orange Manx said with a sigh.

Sally by this point composed herself and inquired of Tiara, "So, are you saying all you have to do is throw one of those things at a robot and it'll turn on the others?"

"Not exactly." Tiara answered. "For the grenade to work properly, the robot's outer shell has to be damaged enough that it can seep into its circuitry. Otherwise, its effects are very minimal. This grenade I've made sadly still has a lot of bugs to work out before it can be used by a large taskforce."

"I see… so how many of these things have you made?" Sally asked

"Only two unfortunately…" The orange Manx answered softly. "These take a lot of time to build correctly because they're not your standard run of the mill explosive. These are in a sense a computer virus grenade."

"Well, I hope you'll be able to refine these to be fully operational soon." Sally said with a smile. "I can tell they are really going to beneficiary for the peace of Mobius."

"Thanks, Princess." Tiara replied, smiling back at her. "I appreciate it."

Moments later, Sally finally motioned her team and Ari's into a huddle, where she soon addressed them. "Anyway, it's time to go over the plan." she said firmly. "The plan is this: We're going to pretend to play along and believe Snively. I even sent a message back, saying I was looking forward to seeing him so we could finally end the war. Little does he realize, he's going to walk right into a trap if he dares to try anything." Looking in Ari's direction, she asked, "You buried the land mines we sent you yesterday?"

"Yea, we did all right…" Ari answered. "They're all in the areas you asked us to place them. Those things were really heavy. I was even afraid we might set one off and blow up our base."

"You have nothing to fear, my friend." Sally explained. "These landmines only detonate with a remote control, and I didn't send you one of those.

"Well, that's good to know…" the ram said with a sigh of relief.

"Anyway, back to the plan…" Sally stated, clearing her throat. "Most of us will stand out in the open and appear we have come to accept Snively's surrender. Sonic and Dulcy on the other hand will stand back from a distance and watch, waiting for my signal. On the far chance Snively really is surrendering, I'll signal them to stand down. But if it's exactly as I fear, I'll give them another signal to prepare to attack. After that, Sonic will power up with a Power Ring and wait for my next signal while Dulcy takes to the sky. Once I give them the second one, both will go rush towards and finish off any remaining machines that are still functioning. If everything goes according to plan, Snively's forces should be reduced to scrap metal within a minute and be easy pickings for us to finally administer justice."

"You know these plans of yours never go through as you hope, Sal." Sonic said with a frown, crossing his arms together.

"Yes, I'm aware of that." Sally replied. "But even on the far chance that doesn't take him down, our team has additional explosives on hand to finish the job. Like I said, I'm taking no chances this time."

This answer though didn't satisfy the blue hedgehog, as something else was eating at him by the expression on his face.

"What's wrong now, Sonic hedgehog?" Sally inquired.

"You're still not taking into account of Snively possibly having spies in our midst." He said bluntly. "Especially the ones we might have within our own base."

"Are you talking bad about us again?" Bark demanded angrily.

"Who else, cubby?" Sonic retorted, placing his hands at his waist, glaring at the bear intently.

The three Mobian were about to get in Sonic's face about this in protest, but Sally placed her hands up to silence them, saying, "Sonic, enough of these accusations already. It's getting old by this point. Besides, you need proof first before claiming such things."

"What more proof do I need?" the blue hedgehog muttered. "I already told you about how they hide information from us."

"And I already addressed that." Sally shot back. "I gave them a severe warning, so I doubt they'll do that again. Besides, they cleaned out Rotor's closet like you asked them to. Isn't that enough to give them the benefit of the doubt for now?"

"Yea, except for the fact after you got those mondo land mines from the weapon's dealer, I caught them poking around it." Sonic countered. "Not to mention they've been asking way too many questions for my tastes."

Sally did admit this was very peculiar, as they had indeed showed a lot of interest in these devices before shipping them off to Ari's base. Nevertheless, she said with a shrug, "I'm sure they're just eager to see these explosives used against Snively to bring him down is all. Who wouldn't be?"

"C'mon, Sal, you know there's more to it than that." Sonic said, now looking her firmly in the eye. "You're supposed to be the brilliant one here. Use your head."

This statement in a sense almost caused Sally to become unglued, but she quickly controlled herself, replying with an out of patience groan, "Fine. How bout I have a couple of Ari's men keep a close watch on them for now. Will that satisfy you, Mr. Paranoid?"

Sonic deep down wasn't, but nodded his head in agreement nonetheless.

After a long and awkward pause, Sally finally spoke up again, saying, "Ok, let's get to work, guys. We've got less than thirty minutes before Snively is expected to show up. We have to make sure every I is doted and every T crossed. There can be no mistakes. Understood?"

And with that statement, both Freedom Fighter teams nodded their heads and got work.

Sally then instructed several of Ari's men to keep a close watch on Bean, Bark and Dingo, much to their disgust. Sonic meanwhile began to walk to his designated spot, but could not very far, as Bean asked the blue hedgehog with a frown, "Are you ever going to trust us, blue boy?"

"I'd sooner trust Cream on the front lines than you morons." Sonic retorted.

This statement riled most of them up, but Dingo kept some of his composure, saying, "When you find out we were legit all along, you're going to really look stupid in front of all your friends."

Sonic kept his cool, retorting again, this time with a frown "I seriously doubt that. But, whatever… I've got work to do. You just stay put and do as you're told, and then maybe I'll admit down the road I was wrong about you."

Sonic though felt he wouldn't be in the least. He didn't know how to explain this, but he had a gut feeling that these guys would show their true colors and soon.

For the next twenty five minutes, the Freedom Fighters and Ari's team got into position, even double checking the mines to make sure they were fully operational. With about five minutes left, Sally was finally satisfied with everything.

"Everything appears to be ready to go." She told Ari, who was a couple feet away from her. "I think this plan is going to go off without a hitch."

"Let's hope you're right about that, Princess." The ram replied. "You're not the only one who wants this war to finally end.

Tiara, who was also with them, commented, "I was actually hoping to use one of my grenades in this conflict to test out its efficiency." She then added with disappoint in her voice, "But after I heard about your plan with the land mines, I realized it wasn't necessary."

"Don't worry about that." Sally told her sympathetically. "Like I said, when they're fully developed, I'm sure they'll be a great benefit to the planet Mobius."

"Yea, I guess so…" the orange Manx replied with a sigh. Deep down, Tiara was hoping her weapon would play a big part in Snively's downfall in case this would be his last stand as a means to avenge her father.

Moments later, Sally pulled out her specialized binoculars, keeping a close watch towards the North, as that would be the main direction Snively would be coming in. Several minutes later, he and his forces finally came into view. Not surprisingly, it would be as she had feared.

"Here they come, guys." She announced loudly. "Everyone, get into your places now."

Bunnie soon came running towards her, asking, "How many troops did he bring with him?"

"Let's just say more than enough to convince me he's not the least bit thinking about surrender." Sally answered. "But if I had to guess, it appears he's got about one to two dozen Swatbots, about ten Mega Muck machines and even a few Hover Units. I can't tell for sure, but it's enough that they mean business."

Bunnie quickly let out a low whistle, commenting, "Man, you were right, Sally girl. He's not going to go down without a fight."

"I had a strong feeling he wasn't." the squirrel Princess stated with firm resolve. "But, I wanted to give him that option just to see what he'd do." Sally then got out her remote and activated the land mines from a distance, adding, "That little cretin though is going wish he did, especially after what he sees I have planned for him."

Sonic meanwhile kept watch from about a hundred feet away, as he soon saw Sally give the signal to get ready to attack. He then pulled out a Power Ring, even setting his feet in position to blast off. Dulcy, who was nearby, saw the signal and soon flew into air, preparing to do her part.

Sally during this time kept her eyes glued to her binoculars, waiting anxiously for Snively's forces to come close enough.

"C'mon, c'mon, what's taking you so long?" she muttered.

To her surprise, they were not going as fast as they usually did; making her wonder what was up. Finally though, about a minute later, Snively's forces made their move, now passing through the cannon walls. She even heard him shout over his PA in his Unit, "Prepare to die, Freedom Fighters! I'll never surrender to you."

Sally however just smirked at his words, waiting for him and his forces to be in the right spot. Once they were, Sally pressed another button on her remote. Almost instantaneously, the ground below Snively and his troops exploded with fury, causing massive particles of sand to erupt all around them. As planned, they quickly sank into the ground below due to the huge holes made by the intense blast. Within seconds, all the Swatbots were swallowed up and buried alive. Even 2/3 of the aerial Mega Muck and Hover units, including Snively's, crashed to the ground below due to the sand clogging their intakes. The rest of them were able to go on, though heavily sputtering from the attack.

That's when Sally gave the next signal, and there Sonic and Dulcy began phase two of the assault. After fully powering up, Sonic blasted off towards the wounded machines, where he soon slammed into them violently with multiple triple spin attacks, hitting each one as hard as he could.

The remaining machines of Snively's Units were smashed into the canyon walls with such power; they broke into many pieces on contact. As for Dulcy, she soon flew into position, spewing ice beams and flames at the rest still functioning at a blistering rate, where they soon crashed to the ground, exploding into bits of scrap metal within seconds.

Once they were all taken out and out of commission, Sonic soon pumped his right fist in the air, shouting all psyched up, "Oh yea, now that's what I call a smackdown!"

Thirty seconds later, the others soon ran over and saw the aftermath. Snively's entire army was completely wiped out.

"Sonic, did you take them all out?" Sally asked, still running towards him.

"Yea, I think so." He replied, wiping the sweat from his brow. "I guess you were right, Sal. Your plan worked like a charm."

"As if there were any doubt." She countered with a smug look.

Just then, a lone Hover Unit came out of hiding from behind the canyon walls and took off in the opposite direction.

"What in the…? Where did that thing come from?" Sonic pondered with a frown.

"Strange…" Sally commented, rubbing her chin with her hand. "It looks as if that Unit was hiding there all this time when the mines went off."

"Don't worry; I'll smash that thing up for ya." Dulcy said boldly, getting ready to take off.

"There's no need for that." Sally told the green dragon, holding up her right hand. "We got Snively now. Let that thing go. It's of no importance to us."

"Aw, c'mon, I wanted to get them all." Dulcy protested. "It might have something valuable in it for us."

Sally was again going to tell her no, but Sonic this time spoke up, saying with a shrug, "Let her go after it, Sal. If what you say is true, then I think it's only fair Dulcy gets to smash up one more Hover Unit before it's officially over."

"But… but… but… I." Sally then groaned in frustration, replying, "Oh, go ahead... but you come right back after you're done. We have a lot of cleanup to do with all these wrecked machines."

"Okey dokey." Dulcy said with a salute. She then added while preparing to take off, "I shall be back ASAP."

And with that statement, the green dragon flew off, trying to catch up to that Unit as fast as she could.

"Ok, let's start combing through the wreckage." Sally said. "Snively is bound to be in one of these machines. The sooner we take him prisoner and administer justice, the better."

Sonic nodded his head, as he and the others soon began to do that. However, a minute into this, a chilling feeling quickly came over his spine, making him stop cold in his tracks.

"Something wrong, Sonic hedgehog?" Sally asked puzzled.

The blue hedgehog furrowed his brow, replying bluntly, "Something about this smells, Sal. Real bad."

"What do you mean, Sugar hog?" Bunnie inquired, now looking up at him.

"I mean, Sal's plan went off perfectly…" he soon added with another frown, "Almost too perfectly now that I think about it."

"How do you figure?" the squirrel princess asked.

"Think about it: Snively's forces just walked right into your trap." Sonic explained. "Not one of them went into another direction to try and catch us off guard."

"Maybe it's because Snively thought he was getting the drop on us after we pretended to agree to his surrender." Sally concluded with a shrug. "It's possible, don't you think?"

Sonic though shook his head, retorting, "I don't think so. Not with old shrimp boat and his hand of dirty tricks. He wouldn't be this stupid. You and I both know that by now."

Sally sadly could not deny something was not right about all of this. "Now that you mention it… his forces were flying towards us at a much slower pace of speed than they usually do." Nevertheless, she blew it off, saying, "Look, Sonic, I know Snively came after us. I saw that arrogant look on his face. I even heard it in his voice through his Hover Unit too."

"How do you know that wasn't just a decoy?" Sonic asked.

"Well, I… er…" Sally again however blew off his concerns, replying, "We'll worry about that later. I know what I saw, ok? So let's dig him out before he tries to escape."

Sonic was still very suspicious inside about all of this, but complied with her orders nonetheless.

Within five minutes, the Freedom Fighters finally got to Snively's Hover Unit, still buried deep in the sand. They even saw him lying on the floor face first, apparently knocked out cold behind his chair.

"See, I told you he was there." Sally said with a smug look.

"Yea, yea, whatever…" Sonic muttered. "I'll go fish him out for ya."

However, when the blue hedgehog went inside his Hover Unit and picked him up, his suspicions earlier had been confirmed.

"This is just a dummy!" he shouted in disgust, slamming it onto the ground. "I was right. This whole attack of theirs was just a decoy!"

"I can't believe this…!" Sally exclaimed in horror, placing her hands on top of her head. "You mean… we used all of the land mines… for nothing?"

"It sadly appears to be the case." Ari replied, now frowning heavily as well. "I should have seen this coming. The way they charged towards us was just too much by the book, even for Robotnik's standards."

"We better get out of this spot before there's anymore surprises." Tiara commented. "I don't like the looks of this at all."

The others quickly nodded, as they soon did just that, with Sally even trying to think of what to to next. However, before they could even take ten steps towards the camp, the Freedom Fighters were abruptly jolted by a huge explosion within twenty feet of them. Within moments, they were all knocked off of their feet and fell onto the ground heavily stunned. A massive wave of sand particles soon erupted all around them, forcing both Freedom Fighter teams to shield their eyes from being blinded.

While they tried to pick themselves off the ground, even shaking their heads to clear their vision, the Freedom Fighters, along with Ari's unit, soon found a huge surprise. Out of nowhere, they saw Snively in front of them in a Hover Unit, this time with a much broader group of machines than before.

"Hello, rodents." He greeted with a devious grin. "Long time no see…"

"You…" Sally hissed, giving him a fierce glare.

"Did you really think I wasn't expecting a trap?" the small dictator boasted with dripping arrogance. "I knew how badly you wanted me and my machines taken down, so I sent in a fake one to take advantage of your aggressiveness and make you waste all of your valuable explosives." He then added with sly chuckle, "And I guess from your priceless facial expression, it worked."

This time, nearly all the Freedom Fighters glared at him, as they soon realized they were in deep trouble. In every direction, Swatbots and Mega Mucks Units pointed their weapons at them, daring any and all to make a move.

"Well now, isn't this a wonder taste of irony, wouldn't you say?" Snively declared smugly. "This time, you are at my mercy, Princess. And while I am tempted to play your little surrender game back at you and just make you my robotic slaves; I'm afraid I'm just going to do what you should have done to me back in Lower Mobius." The small dictator quickly added with the utmost satisfaction on his face, "And that is… finish you off."

By this point, Sonic and his team could only wonder how they were going to get out of this mess. With Snively's forces outnumbering them five to one, and no Power Ring left for the blue blur to use, it was clearly going to be a very dicey situation to say the least.

To be continued...


End file.
